What Came Before
by LadyDevine
Summary: *FIN* Please read and review... Thank you.
1. Prologue & Uncomfotable Silence

Hey everyone... I want to say thank you to those that are reviewing my work! I have gone back and re-beta (?) read everything, fixed some problems and re-posted... I tried to keep everything as close to how it was, though you may want to re-read because I have clarified on a few things. Like I fixed their ages and such... (My fae are more like elves... They are nearly immortal, their gestational periods are between 24 and 28 months, so at fifty Annalisa is a preteen and her sister at less then five is not walking or really talking yet. So at seventy think late teen's early twenties.)  
  
  
Thanks a million guys... Knowing that someone is reading this has made it much easier to continue...   
  
LadyDevine   
  
((Oh yeah, I don't own the Labyrinth, I am just borrowing it for a bit and will be happy to return it in working order to Mr. Henson and Mr. Lucas when I am done. All other characters are mine.))   
  
R rated for violence for now, maybe changing later if I get frisky.  
  
What Came Before  
  
Prologue: Before the Storm  
  
Annalisa sat cross-legged on the stones, a book and her younger sister sat on her lap. The sun was shinning so brightly, and the wind moved playfully through the trees and graced the family courtyard. She could hear her mother singing through the large open doors. Her father was probably in his library reading some book of war. She looked up from the book and glanced around her, it was so calm, "Like right before the storm," she said softly.  
  
Her sibling laughed and cooed and demanded to see more pictures, she had grown tired of the ones on the page. They had older half siblings, their mother had married their father after the death of his first wife, and Rebecca only bore him two children, he had all the heirs he needed and she would have no more.   
  
There was something wrong in the world, and even at only fifty she could smell it, there was the familiar metallic taste of magic in the air. Her first alert was her mother. There was no more singing, only a quick scream, then silence. Her parents were some of the most powerful Fae in the realm, and their daughter's had no lack of magic at their fingertips, but something had stopped her mother. Putting the baby back into her basket Annalisa crept to the doors like a thief, wondering what had caused the scream. Usually she would have simply walked into the room to see her father tickling her mother, but today something was foul, and she crept to find that the thing she had expected held a much different view.   
  
Trolls. It could be nothing else, the lumbering foul smelling monsters had her mother bent over a table and were doing terrible things to her. Her father was on the floor, his head no where to be seen. Annalisa screamed not the scream of a scared child, but a blood-curdling scream of terror that slowed time for the briefest of moments. Her mother looked up for only a second, and said the words, "Run, they are all dead, you must survive" to her daughter. Time resumed and she saw the last breath leave her mother's shell and she turned. She had to get to Emily.  
  
She thanked whatever God's were watching that her mother had let her wear her plaid britches that day, a dress would have slowed her down too much. She looked behind her for only a second and saw three trolls on their way out the door, moving slowly, blood on the biggest Troll's mid section.   
  
She tripped and fell, skidding four feet before she managed to stand again, her hands and knees were scraped badly and her stomach ached from where she hit the ground. They were nearly to her and she still had ten yards to reach her sister. She felt a fist come smashing near her, the wind close to her head, continuing to run, she could feel another hand reaching for her, she leapt and barely touched the baby before she disappeared in a flash of light, leaving nothing but the softest sparkle where she was.   
  
She did not know where she was, she didn't open her eyes again, and she simply felt her sister in her arms. She curled into the tightest ball she could and sang; hoping the baby would stay soothed. Annalisa did not know if she could help the baby if it needed anything. Then through her sobs, and poor attempt at song for the baby she felt arms around her and lost consciousness.   
  
  
Chapter 1: Uncomfortable Silence  
  
  
  
The youngest Kildalton daughter chattered happily at her older sister. They sat on a bench in the garden of the castle and waited patiently, or rather, the older sister waited patiently. Emily Kildalton rambled on as her sister smiled and nodded occasionally, but for the most part was happy to study the flowers and statues and listen to the fountain gurgle. Emily, though young, knew that her sister was not listening to her. She knew that her sister was busy contemplating their lives and the world at hand, or other such complicated things that the girl had no truck with. Emily, though young, was happy to talk to herself as long as no one could say that she was.   
  
Annalisa Kildalton was not listening to the fountain or her sister or, contemplating the Cosmos for that matter, she was listening to the Labyrinth that surrounded the castle of the King. Annalisa could feel Her heartbeat, and hummed in her head to Her.   
  
He watched the girls, nay, girl and young woman closely from the shadows. They had been with him for twenty years. Emily had been only an infant when Trolls attacked their parent's castle, thankfully she remembered nothing of the experience, but Annalisa had not been so lucky. At fifty she had seen the massacre, saw her father beheaded and her mother raped and killed. It had been her that saved herself and her sister. She had teleported them to only place that she knew was safe for orphans. The Labyrinth of the Goblin King.   
  
Jareth sighed at the memory of a fifty year old girl, curled in a ball next to a wall of the outer maze crying with her only living relative wrapped in her arms. She had told him there was someone in the maze, gently pleading with him to be gentile but refusing to tell him why. He had arrived with out scrying them in a crystal, simply arriving in an appropriately dramatic way. He heard her before seeing her and the sound touched his heart, singing through sobs, but the sight of a fifty year old girl dirty, bloody and sobbing as quietly as she could but singing to the infant in her arms, had wrenched his soul. He had moved to her and picked up both children in his arms, cradling them, not knowing what else to do. As soon as he picked her up the girl stopped her sobbing, and drifted off to sleep, he could feel Her soothing her, mothering her in the only way She knew how.   
  
Annalisa had slept for hours, he sat at her bedside, concerned and confused as to why the child had come to him. He knew nothing of her past, but recognized the plaid of her trousers. Her father was the Chieftain Kildalton, a powerful Fae far from Jareth's kingdom.  
  
Later when she woke and sat with Jareth talking to him about what had happened she would go no farther into the details then she had seen their deaths and had saved the only person she could. Something had happened to the wards of the castle, but for some reason her magic was unaffected. "Why here, Annalisa? Why not to Titania and Oberon, or any member of your family."  
  
"I don't know, your Highness..."  
  
"Please, call me Jareth, no need for that Highness business."  
  
She nodded, "Jareth, I didn't have time to think. I just ran. I ran for the only thing that I had left and teleported. There was no destination in mind, the only thing I though was "safe"."  
  
"Yes, you are safe now, child," he looked into her haunted eyes and felt something deep and tragic. He was rather concerned about her family, obviously something horrible had happened, but he sensed that perhaps it was more then a simple troll attack. He bent and kissed her forehead gently, "Sleep, girl." She did.   
  
He had petitioned the queen, his mother, for what to do. Titania, having heard of the destruction of the Kildalton's castle, and having heard the tale of the girl's teleportation had a difficult choice to make. After her birth, the Lady Rebecca was petitioned to have her only daughter betrothed to the high prince, but she declined. Now it seemed that Titania would get her wish weather or not Rebecca saw it fit. So she decreed that her only soon was the perfect person to care for the orphans. The oldest owned great wealth and lands, and besides, he had been stock piling unwanted children so long and adopting them out it would do him good to actually care for the two that chose him.  
  
He felt a deep sadness for her again, he often did the first six years when she would wake screaming and he would sing to her, or when Emily would wake and she would sing to the girl, the only mother she knew. He swallowed his feelings and entered the courtyard, Emily saw him immediately, for she had given up on her sister for the moment and was twirling in the grass. The woman sat staring at the fountain, lost in thought. "Jareth! We've been waiting for hours for you!"  
  
"Somehow I doubt that is possible, sense I only sent for you twenty minutes ago," he smiled at the girl and pulled on her pigtails.   
  
"Annie's gone all weird again, snap her out of it so we can go riding, please!" The girl giggled as he tugged at her other pigtail.  
  
"All weird? Compared to you? I think you have that market cornered, girl, but let me see what I can do, how about you run to the stables and have Reeve get the horses for us, alright?"  
  
The girl nodded and ran off, when she was out of sight Jareth approach Annalisa.   
  
She had been deep in thought, usually she panicked if Emily sneezed, but she hadn't seemed to notice the girl go, or Jareth's appearance. Their relationship had been strained lately. He fairly sure it was his fault, he was finding himself thinking more and more about her. More then wondering which instrument he wanted her to play, or if she should learn to cook or about the finances of running a kingdom. Or weather she should marry a king or a lord, actually the mere thought of betrothing her made him sick to his stomach and the Labyrinth protested. She had been quieter then usual, slipping into semi trances and Jareth feared for her.   
  
"It is quite beautiful isn't it?" he remarked quietly, jostling her out of the state of mind. The fountain was indeed beautiful, if not monstrous in its size, it depicted nymphs and dryads playing in a stream.  
  
She looked confused for a moment before she took in her surroundings. "Oh... Yes, it is beautiful Jareth, it reminds me of the fountain in my mother's court yard." The sad look returned to her eyes and she looked down at her hands. They were small and plump, the nails chewed to the quick.   
  
"I know that you have been having nightmares again," his voice did not rise, it was almost a whisper. "Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"I..." she paused. She wanted to answer him truthfully, but it would not be proper. He had been a father to Emily, and a friend to her for the last twenty years, but she could not compromise her position and explain to her that her girlish crush had turned into a deep love and she didn't want him to see her weak anymore. So she lied. "I didn't want you to worry about me Jareth, I am fine, really I am."  
  
"No, you aren't Annie, you were in the maze last night." He frowned at her, she continued to look down at her hands. She couldn't stand to look into his eyes and lie to him; she would fall dead the moment the words left her mouth. "I would have been with you, you know that. I would have held you. You didn't need to go into the Labyrinth at night and huddle in the cold to be soothed."  
  
Tears welled in her eyes. She could not tell him that she loved him, it would ruin their friendship, and it would ruin the peace that she had carefully cultivated since they came to the Labyrinth years ago. "I... I..." she couldn't finish.   
  
The sun beat down, and the birds sang but she could not find it in herself to sob like she had so many nights waking up to nightmares in front of him. She could not find it in herself to ask him to comfort her. He had done so much already.   
  
"I am here for you Annie, you know that, tell me what you want and I will do whatever is necessary to make you happy."  
  
She looked up at him, into those strange eyes that held so much power. She had seen him wear many masks, with courtiers, other kings, but never with her, but recently he had been wearing a mask. She wondered if he had grown to feel the same way, but no that was impossible. He could have any woman he wanted why would he want a scarred seventy-year-old that he had nearly raised. "I am happy, Jareth, you must trust me." She blinked away the tears and looked up at him with a smile. "Though I admit I haven't been sleeping very well, perhaps I will go and take a brief nap while you and Emily go riding."  
  
He knew she was lying, but he wouldn't humiliate her by making her explain herself just yet, he could wait. "Very well, then sleep." He whispered. She slumped and he picked her up, transporting them to her bedroom. He laid her down on her canopy bed and gently kissed her lips. "Your lying to me, Annalisa Kildalton, but I forgive you for not wanting to show your pain. I love you, please let me help you." He left her to sleep, leaving her with sweet dreams, the sweetest that 


	2. What Dreams May Come

**Slightly reworked, no big changes... **  
((Not mine, the only thing that belongs to me are Annalisa, Aelis and Emily... Have you noticed my like of "A" names for some reason?))  
  
  
  
Chapter 2: What Dreams May Come  
  
  
Her mother was singing, but her mother was dead, the castle was falling down, overrun with monsters and ivy. The grand courtyard's stones split with weeds and the tree's dead. Everything was dead, everything that had once lived there was dead except for Annalisa and her sister. She was in the courtyard again, she looked down and saw the same plaid britches under a long blouse with flared sleeves. Her mother had let her dress comfortable because no one was in the castle for delegations that day. The sky was heavy with clouds, and soon it would rain. She looked about, after twenty years much had changed, but Emily's basket still sat on the stones by the fountain that had long since run dry.   
  
She turned and looked to the windows that her mother always kept open during the day, so she could hear the girls call if they needed her. The singing continued, slow and sad, tears welled in her eyes but she could not cry. This was not her dream, she didn't want to be here. She wanted to be safe in the castle of the Goblin King far away from the nasty memories that Castle Kildalton caused in her.   
  
She sat down on the fountain, not sure if she could make herself from this nightmare but unwilling to go farther. The singing stopped, and once again there was a scream from her mother. A scream that she had heard before, a hundred times, the same yelp that her mother would give if her father had sneaked up on her, but this was different, there was no laughter afterwards. "No, no, no, not again..." she pleaded with herself to stay put, she already knew what gruesome sights awaited her in that parlor, but her body would not listen, it stood and walked slowly to the doors, not trying to hide this time.   
  
The sight was as horrific as she remembered, once again time slowed down, and her scream echoed through the halls of the castle.   
  
He jolted awake.   
  
Screaming.  
  
Someone was screaming, she was screaming. With out thought, he disappeared and was beside her. She was struggling, fighting with the sheets that were tangled in her legs. "No, no, no," she cried out, her back arching trying to escape whatever terror was following her.  
Jareth gloved hands pulled the covers away, he could see her pale legs, he didn't think he had ever seen them before, she was so proper, only wearing pants when they went riding. "Annie, Annie, wake up, girl..." he paused, she wasn't really a girl anymore was she. She slept in a sheer shift that was currently covered in sweat sticking to her body.   
  
She arched her back again and her eyes snapped open like shutters. Her face was pale, normally she was sheet pale, but as the blood drained from her face she neared translucence. Her screaming stopped, but she was hyperventilating. Their eyes met for a moment and she rolled over onto her side and curled into a ball. It was just awful, it was happening all over again. She was dreaming the same dream over and over again just like before. "Damn," she said softly.   
  
His heart stopped threatening to come out of his chest and he lay down beside her. Gathering her to himself like an infant. "You should have told me, Annalisa, I would have helped you." They had laid like this many a night, when the dreams had become too much he held her. He was not experienced with the scarring that threatened to rend her soul. He was not experienced with having feelings this strong for someone. His instinct was to protect her, and he did.   
  
"I couldn't," she whispered. Her back was to him, and her eyes stared blankly at nothing. "I couldn't bare for you to see me this way."  
  
"This isn't the first time you have had nightmares, girl, nor the first time that I helped you through them. Swallow your pride and let me help you! I will have Morpheous come and you will never dream again."  
  
"No!" She said it to quickly, Oh damn. She thought, Now I have to tell him! "No, I..." how to explain to him that she didn't want to miss out on the dreams she had of him. How in the Universe could she do that? She couldn't, he would want to know what she had been dreaming, but he would see through any lie she managed. She turned and looked into his hard face, framed by nearly white locks, tinged with blue, his beautiful mismatched eyes, so full of concern for her welfare. Thin lips that she had longed to kiss, how did she tell the man that had cared for her like a daughter that she loved him like a man. "I would miss my other dreams very much," she said quietly, hoping that it would satiate him.   
  
"That's ridiculous!"  
  
The Labyrinth, who up to this point had stayed out of the conversation because She felt that perhaps Jareth and Annalisa needed to work this out for themselves, tried to sooth Her adopted daughter, but failed. He felt her body stiffen and pull away from him. "You of all people would call me ridiculous? You who parade around this kingdom like a stuffed up cockerel are going to call me ridiculous!"  
  
"You should not say such things Annalisa, my behavior has nothing to do with you." His features hardened and he sat up as the words came, he didn't want to be angry with her now. He had been angry with her before, she could be infuriating.  
  
*Shhhh, my daughter, he knows not what he says. He has no idea of your feelings, let him be ignorant* the Labyrinth forced her will upon the young woman, but she was too far-gone in anger. "Nothing to do with me! For the last twenty years I have followed you around like a forsaken puppy, only to be treated as a pawn in some game for you. I am here to make your whores jealous and boost your over rampant ego."  
  
The slap rang out like a bell. His hand stung from the contact and her face was immediately red. Surprise flashed across her face, and then anger. He had slapped her like a disobedient child. "You should not say such things, Annalisa," he said through clenched teeth.   
  
He did not bother to transport himself out of her room. He got out of her bed, the bed that he had made especially for her, walked to the door and on his way out slammed it so hard her ears rang.   
  
She considered screaming his name and beating him to death with her fists but then the Labyrinth stepped in. *You should have held your tongue, child. He cares for you deeply, but he is independent and does not take well to criticism.*   
  
"I should have held my tongue, but I cannot let him take my dreams away from me. It is not my fault that he cannot handle the truth." She sat cross-legged in the bed. Her breathing was still hard and the sweat had just started to dry on her skin. She went to her bathroom, full of beautiful things that he had made or had made for her, and drew a hot bath. She added bath salts and slipped into water that was much to hot. The water dissolved the salty sweat on her skin and eased her soul. "What am I going to do?"  
  
*You could apologize.*  
  
"Oh, no, not me. He couldn't control himself and now I am expected to apologize."  
  
*I love you child, I have watched you grow as I watched Jareth. You are too much alike. You have seen too much destruction, you are touched by an evil that you cannot purge from your soul. Be the stronger person, be the brave woman that your mother would have wanted you to be. Give him your love, but let him be himself.*   
  
"So in order to love him, I must let him be right constantly?"  
  
*Do what you feel is right, not what keeps your pride intact.*  
  
  
Across the castle in a large room, he sat cross-legged on his bed. The room was his, and had been his for centuries. Decorated in dark mahogany wood and velvet. He shouldn't have hit her, he should never have raised his hand to her. She was not a pet, or a goblin that he could kick out of his way when he had grown tired of her. She had seen such tragedy in her young life. So much death and it was keeping her up nights again. He wondered weather or not he should go to her. "What do I do?" He asked himself softly.  
  
*You could apologize, Jareth.*  
  
"Shouldn't you mind yourself?"  
  
*I am more then capable of protecting the denizens within myself and advising you, your Highness. Apologizing will not kill you. You need to either love her or let her go. She must be able to live in the light and grow or she will wither and die in the shadow you have cast.*  
  
He pondered the words of his faithful Labyrinth. He had taught her much in the millenium that he had ruled her. In the last seven years there had been a peace in his life that he had never known. It was strange to think that he may have to let him go one day, he had grown so used to laughter in his dreary castle. They brought light to the shadows that had plagued the place for centuries.   
  
  
Considering Her words he wondered if he had ever felt as close to anyone as he did with her. He had been angered, and his pride wounded with his mother had deigned him the only one fit to /handle/ the Labyrinth. He had become instantly the lowliest among equals. After thousands of years in charge of her he realized that perhaps his mother had meant to teach him to be humble, unfortunately it had not worked. He was still as head strong as his father, and as full of pride as... well, as a cockerel.  
  
Since he was in a pondering mood, he /pondered/ his mother. The Kildalton's were a clan. Their magics pulled from the land. Like druids they venerated the land and made their home so as to be tolerated by the Land. Their home had been far from his, but he had met Annie once when she was very young at the High Court. His mother had been quit interested in introducing him to a sixteen-year-old red haired girl, at the time the only Kildalton female. They were a powerful clan and the attack, let alone massacre of the family had left many a Fae feeling exposed and afraid.   
  
For some reason his mother proclaimed that he, King of the Goblins, King of Orphans would take these girls in. "You have been stockpiling unwanted children for centuries Jareth, to simply give them away, perhaps it is time that you actually cared for the two that chose you."   
  
At the time he was sure that his mother had gotten quite a laugh of it, but as they grew, and his mother's visits were fewer and farther between he understood that perhaps this was another attempt at humbling him. "So much more then you knew mother. You have delivered your own son to the lions and didn't even know it."  
  
Soon it would be time for the court to meet again. /I could petition Titania to find her a husband/ His heart sank at the thought. /Now, there is always the chance that a Duke's daughter would be suitable to marry a higher official in the Courts/. His heart sank farther, he was certainly not the only unmarried man of power in the Fae court, and a Kildalton child would be quit a prize. Annalisa had land that she wouldn't step foot on, but could be used as farming land, or land for cattle. He would petition Titania to choose a suitable husband for her. /Even if she doesn't choose me, it will be someone to let her reach the sunlight./  
  
For a moment tears threatened to run down his face. He was truly sorry for what he had done, and wanted to make it up to her, but he had to make sure that she would be happy, and safe, before he could promise her the moon. 


	3. The Heart's Song

Slightly reworked. Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimers: The Labyrinth is not mine, but I promise to return it as soon as I am done. Titania is of course, Master Will's and the song Suil a Ruin is a Lord of the Dance song (I believe, if anyone knows for sure just let me know please) All other characters are mine.  
  
Oh, please read and review. I feel much better about this thing now that I have some reviews!   
  
  
  
Chapter 3: The Hearts Song  
  
  
How to tell her. Should he tell her? No. That would start another argument. Since the night of her nightmare she had avoided him like the proverbial plague. She no longer joined him and Emily for meals, she no longer went riding with them, or picnicking with them. She stayed in her room, or the Library or the garden with Emily. Never near him. He knew that he must have hurt her deeply, and that this would hurt her as well.   
  
Pacing his bedroom was not going to help the situation, but he really had no idea how to bring it up. His mother had smiled and nodded at him through the mirror. "Yes, son, I will find her a suitable husband, do you have anyone in mind?"   
  
He had scowled at her. His mother knew him too well. "Mother, just pick whom /you/ think is most suitable. I know little of the court drama."  
  
"Very well my son. Do not be surprised by whom I choose." She had left the mirror blank with those words and a confused and irritated Jareth to be dealt with by the servants at the castle.   
  
Alone in her parlor Titania laughed. Her son was so obvious, he though himself debonair and dashing when he had fallen so far in love with a girl that he winced at her mention of Adam McLaughlin being her husband. Shortly after attack on the Kildalton lands Adam had asked for the hand of the oldest living Kildalton and the request refused by both Titania and Jareth. Titania's reasoning was a bit more logical, though she did find it detestable that he would jump at the chance to take her lands and her innocence so soon after the tragedy. Jareth as usual gave no reason, he had always kept his motives to himself and so it was agreed that the children would be fostered in his castle until they could have husbands chosen for them. / Idiot man, you have no idea what you have on your hands./  
  
Three days later, Jareth was still fretting over his mother's choice. It was nearly noon, and he knew that soon it would be time for lunch, and as it had happened in the last three days Emily would come in smiling with a dolly in her hands and tell him that Annalisa said she had things she needed to attend to. He would smile and accept the answer and be distant and thoughtful through the meal. As usual Annalisa would be on his mind.   
  
At four minutes to noon, Jareth was sitting at the table in his personal dinning room, he was intent on the crystal goblet in his hand when the double doors opened and he heard stomping. "Damn you Jareth! Damn you, damn you, damn you!" The voice startled him, making him set down his goblet and spill red wine on the lace tablecloth. He looked up annoyed.   
  
"What have I done today to ruin your life?"  
  
"Oh, well at least you know why I am upset today." Her eyes were wild and larger then normal, she looked like an angry owl. "I can't believe that you asked Titania to find me a husband! Jareth, I thought you of all people would understand that I should be able to choose my husband! I should be able to make that decision for myself!" She sat down in the chair at the other end of the large table. She looked tired, dark bags lined her eyes, she simply sagged into the seat.   
  
"You still haven't been sleeping." He said, not commenting on her outburst yet. He was reminded of why he had been angry with her again.  
  
"My sleeping habits have nothing to do with you anymore, my /husband/ can worry about it from now on. I am sure that she will marry me off to that gold digging, insensitive ass Adam and then you can have the palace nice and quiet again with no women still running about." She spat the words. Her face was flushed with color, and her limbs looked as if she could barely lift them but she managed to yell at him. She was an interesting girl.  
  
"You are overreacting, Annie."  
  
"Don't you pretend that you are my friend, Jareth! Don't you dare! You have decided that I am too much to handle because I bothered to talk back to you after seven years and so you are going to pawn me off to the first man that can impress Titania enough to give her my lands and my /hand in marriage/." She started to speak more, but bit her words back. No, she would not admit the pain that he was causing was more then the removal of her freedom. He could not know.   
  
"Who is to say that the palace would be quiet, Emily would still be rambunctious. If you have something to say, do. You have never kept /anything/ from me before, why start now." His lip curled into a cruel sneer.   
  
"I…" she stopped again. /Why do you have to do this, Jareth, couldn't I have just stayed neared you for a while longer before you bored of me?/ "I only assumed that Emmy would come with me when I left the castle. I have kept things from you because I learned from you not to show weakness, because it may hurt my pride." Her voice was returned to her normal tone, she looked defeated.  
  
He scowled.   
  
The Labyrinth, who was party to everything that happened in the Kingdom, emotionally frowned at Jareth. Tell her or you will lose her forever Jareth!  
  
/Tell her what? That I can't live with out her but she has to go out in the world and find her way?/  
  
No you idiot man! Tell her you love her! I know you do, why not let her know so she doesn't leave you forever because she feels like she has been used as some object for you amusement.  
  
/I… I don't think I can./  
  
You must.   
  
He looked at her, for the first time really looked at her. Torn by tragedy, beaten by fear, she had never been able to truly come to terms with what had happened, she was to young and wasn't thinking fast enough to save anyone else, and she grieved still. "Annie…" his voice had softened but she didn't hear it, she was lost in her own thoughts.   
  
"No, Jareth, don't explain. I will marry whomever Titania chooses, and I will not fight for Emily.. I can't live like this anymore. I cannot love you from afar any longer." She stood, with out looking at him and left the room.   
  
He was too stunned to speak. She cannot what?  
  
  
  
  
"I want to hear a song," Emily said, she was sleepy, her eyes heavy and near to falling. She had been frightened to sleep alone having sensed the tension between Jareth and Annie all week she wondered what was really wrong with the world today. Their rooms were near each other, and though Jareth could be there in an instant she still asked Annalisa to stay.   
  
"What would you like to hear, little one?" She smiled at her sister, tenderness washing away her weariness, sleep had not come easy to her either. She had roamed the Labyrinth until dawn the night before, trying to sort out her feelings, with no luck.   
  
The girl was fighting to stay awake, and in a whisper she answered, "The song mama sang," it was an easy request, the song was burned into Annalisa's heart. She didn't want to sing it, but she could not find it in her to say no. She wondered if Jareth was eavesdropping on them, but decided that she didn't care what Jareth did anymore. He cared very little for her obviously, so she had to distance herself from him so she could live.  
  
"I wish I were on yonder hill,  
"'Tis there I would cry my fill,  
"And every tear would turn a mill,  
"And a blessing walk with you, my love." She felt tears well in her eyes, but she continued the song, it some how made her feel better to sing the song. Emily snuggled deeper into her sister's lap, she had gathered that something unfortunate had passed between Jareth and Annie, but was not sure what it was. "Suil, suil, suil a ruin,  
"Suil go suchair agus suil go cuin   
"Suil go durrus agys eligh liom   
"Is go te tu mo vourneen slan  
"I'll sell my rod, I'll sell my reel   
"I'll sell my only spinning wheel   
"To buy my love a sword of steel   
"And a blessing walk with you, my love."  
  
Jareth was indeed eavesdropping, but unbeknownst to him, Titania watched the scene with growing interest. She had decided upon the girl's husband, and told her that it would be announced. Titania was sure that would be to her liking, but found that it would be more interesting to instead of telling her who it would be let them scramble and see what would happen between them when they thought they would lose one another. It would make the bond greater, and she had grown bored in her old age.   
  
She switched her crystal to spy on her son, and found him spying on the sisters. "Tsk, tsk, You shouldn't spy on little girls Jareth. It isn't polite."  
  
"Mother!" He looked up and frowned. "What are you spying on me for?" He didn't look very happy about his mother's intrusion.  
  
"My dearest son, I was simply making sure that all was well in the land."  
  
"I am sure. So was there a reason why you told her that I asked you to pick a husband for her?" He continued to scowl.  
  
"Of course. I do nothing without a reason."  
  
"Mother, I think that I need to renege on my request. I have found that I think she could find a perfect husband for herself if only she would be less stubborn." He hoped that would satisfy his mother, but knew it would not.  
  
"Why, aren't you anxious to have your castle back to yourself?"  
  
"Mother, first of all I would not have it back to myself, I would still have Emily running around, and I have to admit that I do not necessarily mind them being here. It is rather nice to share my home with someone other then stupid goblins.   
  
"Son, have you grown /fond/ of those girls?"  
  
"If you must meddle, then yes, mother, I have. I find that I cannot bare the thought of them leaving. Either of them." He looked sad for a moment. Talking into thin air, watching the crystal intently. She smiled. /It's about time you started listening to your heart you fool/.   
  
"Well, then, I have no choice, but to announce that she will have the right to choose her own husband, that way you can fight it out with her." Titania laughed and left her son alone to think over it. Perhaps the boy had grown some brains in the last thousand years, but she doubted it.  
  
Through the crystal Annalisa stopped singing. She stroked her small sister's hair, "Jareth, why do you have to be so hard hearted? I would love you forever if you would only let me." Suddenly she blushed and looked around, suddenly concerned that he may be watching.   
  
He let the crystal fall from his hand. 


	4. Keeping the Daemons Away

Disclaimer: Still not mine. Jareth's courtier's outfit was taken from a picture I saw on teenage wildlife of Mr. Bowie playing Mephistopheles in the opera Faust (purh) I thought it was very fitting and would look great with Jareth's hair style. (puhr) Oh, and if you need to picture Oberon, think of Mr. Bowie now, compared to what he looked like in the early '80's.   
  
  
Chapter 4: Keeping the Daemons Away  
  
She had never been at a formal court, but had been taught all the protocol. She was dressed in the finest silks that Jareth could have made for her, and he was dressed in matching colors. Her skirt was royal blue, many layers sat over her petticoats, making the skirt look much like a mushroom cap. Over it was a long rich purple blouse of the same material, the bell sleeves were slit at the elbows for better movement and the sides were split at the hips to allow the viewer to see the skirt underneath. She looked incredible. Jareth was dressed as a courtier, he looked debonair in his royal blue breeches, purple shirt and black over coat. His tights were the same purple as his shirt, Annie hadn't realized that they matched until they were out of the carriage. They stood side by side in the large ballroom that the court was being held. He looked down at her and smiled, her dark red hair was cut much to short for the fashion, lying on her shoulders in gentle waves that framed her face. "You look beautiful, Annie."  
  
"I'm sure my /husband/ will appreciate it," she hissed at him. Her face didn't even fall, the smile that lit her features remained, and she curtsied to a neighboring lord of Jareth's. She would do well as a Queen, he thought to himself.   
  
He frowned down at her, she had been rather cross about the whole situation for the last three weeks, and there had been so much to prepare that he hadn't had time to sit down and have a talk with her after the confrontation in his dinning room. Emily had grown more and more anxious as the day that they were to leave arrived, the girl sensed that something was going to change, and didn't like it. Though the arguing was starting to annoy him, he had enjoyed the arguments that they would have at first. She would be snappish and he would have to be stoic but could give it right back. He was actually enjoying the snippets that they had. As soon as she found out that Titania was just going to give her the right to choose her husband, she would admit her love for him, to him, again, and then they would be wed as soon as possible. Jareth had everything planned and ready to go. He waited only for his mother's announcement. "I do," he said under his breath.  
  
She looked up at him with daggers in her eyes, she had heard his voice but not his words. "Don't you dare toy with me today. I am nervous enough as it is." She looked away, right into the face of Adam McLaughlin. "Oh, Adam, how /lovely/ to see you?" She attempted to smile in a way that at least looked genuine, but couldn't manage it.   
  
"It is indeed a pleasure to lay eyes on such a beautiful creature as you. I haven't seen you in years it seems. You have turned into quite a beauty."  
  
"Adam, good to see you," Jareth smiled down at the man, hooking an arm around Annalisa's waste. "What brings you to court? I thought you were busy hunting Owlbear's near the Stoat Plains." Annie wondered how often it was any other woman except for the High Queen that had two most handsome men in the court vying for her attention. She felt rather pleased with herself for the moment.   
  
"Oh, I was, I was… But Titania called me to her, apparently there is to be quite an announcement this year. Any idea what it could be?"  
  
"Actually… Ow…" He looked down at Annie with shock on his face. What in the world had she kicked him for? She smiled at him, mirth in her eyes. "Actually, Mother hasn't deigned fit to tell me."  
  
Adam frowned for a moment but looked back at the red haired beauty that Jareth seemed so possessive of and assumed that it was for their ears only. He took his leave, he knew that Titania was planning to choose a husband for the girl. She had asked him what he thought of the match just a week ago, but suddenly he wondered if trying to win the Duchess Kildalton from the Goblin King was such a good idea. Something was definitely going on there.  
  
Jareth pulled her out of the large ballroom into an anti chamber for more intimate talk, he pushed her against the wall gently, an arm blocking her escape. "What exactly was that for, Annalisa?"  
  
"I think it would be rather rude to let your mother's secret out." She smiled, enjoying his annoyance. It served him right to be so pompous. She looked up at him from underneath thick lashes; her luscious virgin lips had a wry turn to them. Why did she have to be so damn desirable. "Anyway, I am not certain that I like him, and wouldn't want him to give her any idea's."  
  
Looking down at her, his arm keeping her from going anywhere, her back against the wall, he could make her love him forever there. He bent near to her ear to speak, "Who do you prefer, lovely Annalisa?" His voice was husky and low. The warmth of his breath sent shivers down her body.   
  
"I… You know who I prefer your Highness. Please let me go, please." Her voice quivered. She couldn't stand this. She could be one of his whores.   
  
"No, tell me who you prefer." His mouth moved ever closer to the sensitive spot behind her ear. "Who would be good enough to be your husband, even for a season."  
  
A season! She had nearly forgotten it had been so long since she had been tutored in Fae etiquette. Most Fae marriages only lasted a year, spring for the romance, summer for the happiness of the marriage, autumn the decline and winter the death of the relationship. Even the High Queen and King were merely consorts. Even if she did have to marry someone she detested it could be over in as little as three months as long as she had a male heir to take the Duchy after her death, Titania could not find fault with that. "Jareth, you must stop. It doesn't matter who I prefer, he has already been chosen, and I would imagine the contract that will hand my blood soaked lands over to some court fop that will never love me, only make me give him heirs so he looks like a real man."   
  
"What are you afraid of, Annie? Most women your age have been married for years and have many children."   
  
"I am not afraid of anything Jareth, now stop tormenting me and allow me to face my fate alone." Her eyes flashed cold. She was no longer playing his game. Not ever again would he make her desire him. He toyed with her for amusement and she could stand it no longer.   
  
She stepped around him, and walked away fast enough that he would nearly have to jog to catch up. As she entered the ballroom, Adam caught up with her. "Lady Annalisa, would you care to dance, oh… You look flustered! Are you all right? Here, do you need something to drink?" He looked genuinely concerned.   
  
"No, no, I'm fine," out of the corner of her eye she saw him walk in, annoyance flashing across his face, "But I would love to dance!"  
  
"Wonderful!" Adam whisked her away to the floor.  
  
Titania turned and spoke quietly to her King, "Our son looks none to pleased about that, Oberon."  
  
The High King smiled at his Queen and consort. "Aye, he looks as if he might be getting ready to have kittens."  
  
"Do you think I should just order the marriage for the season, neither of them will expect it and it should stop all of this nonsense."  
  
"I rather like that idea, my darling. I think there might be a brawl though from the looks that Adam and Jareth are sharing."  
  
"What fun," Titania giggled and continued to watch the festivities.   
  
When the music ended and the King and Queen rose from their thrones and took the podium. The room quieted. Jareth stood near a corner, women surrounding him watching her.   
  
"We have an announcement to make to this court. I had originally planned to wait until near the end of the festival but, I think it would merit to so it now. It has come to our attention that the Duchess Kildalton needs a husband." There were many ohs and ahs from the hall. Adam smiled brightly. "But because of her station the Duchess cannot have just any ordinary man or marriage," Titania paused when she saw the girl close her eyes. "Lady Annalisa, I have chosen your husband for you, have you any concerns?"  
  
The question was against the etiquette, but Annie looked up at her queen with pleading in her eyes, "I could never love a man that did not love me. I could never give myself to him fully. Please choose someone that I can love." She ended softly. .   
  
"Ah, this has been taken into account! I have chosen your husband, and by the end of the festival the marriage will have been made and it consummated, but, it is only for the season, if after that time you feel that you cannot find happiness with this man then you may find another." Titania paused for the court to settle down once more. "Jareth, King of the Goblins, High Prince of the Court of Fae, Heir to the High Throne, step forward to meet your bride."  
  
Jareth stepped forward slowly, walking to stand by Annalisa. There was a scowl on his face, this was not the way it was to go. She looked at him with surprise in her eyes, and then pain that had always sat so deeply there came to the surface.   
  
"The vows will be taken this evening after dinner, and the marriage consummated by the end of the festival. Good luck young lovers."  
  
Oberon looked down at the young woman with sympathy, "Have you a dilemma with that, Lady Kildalton?"  
  
"Nay, your Majesties." Her voice was crest fallen, full of something that many could not quite place.  
  
"Good! Let the Celebration commence then!"  
  
She could not bring herself to look at the man that would become her husband, and though it was considered bad manners she teleported out of the room. Away from her King, away from her dreams.   
  
  
=========  
  
  
  
The sun was near to setting as she walked the mazes, thinking about the choice that she was to make. It was for only a season, but that was three months, and she would be required to perform all the duties of a wife. She sat on a bench, far into the maze, near a small fountain.   
  
The tears began to fall, running rivets into the flesh of her face, she bent over, feeling sick to her stomach, choking on her sobs. "Child, my son is a fool." The voice was soft and near. A males voice, like Jareth's but instead of cruel and deep it was light hearted and kind. Oberon sat next to the Lady Kildalton. He had been her mother's husband for a season long before the thought of a child came into her mother's mind, and felt that perhaps he should attempt to make the girl feel better.   
  
"A fool?" She said through tears. "A fool for not wanting a woman with blood soaked lands and a broken heart, who is terrified of her own shadow? How could that make him a fool?"  
  
Oberon looked at her closely, she was much like her mother, her features and mannerisms so close it almost broke his heart. "You know, your mother was afraid of the dark."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Yes, she was afraid of the dark, she always said that if there was a choice between being locked in a oubliette in the dark and being dropped into desert from the edge of the sky she would rather smash into the rocks." He signed, "She said that there were monsters in the dark that no one could see but watched you. That is why she loved your father so much, he kept the daemons away."  
  
"Daemons?" She wiped the tears from her face, and looked into Oberon's face. She had not known that he knew her mother so well. She knew little of her parents, and Emily knew nothing except the stories that Mama would tell and the songs she would sing.   
  
"Yes, your mother was plagued by daemons, not the daemons that plague you, but they were things that made her afraid as well. Everyone had these daemons, you just have to find the person that keeps them away, and if Jareth is not that person then he is not for you."  
  
"He always sooths me. He always helps me sleep, I can only sleep with he is in the room," she paused for a moment and blushed because of what she had admitted.   
  
"Do you love him?"  
  
"I…" she paused. Yes, she did love him, as a friend, as a confidant, as a man, but could she love him for all her life? Could she love him for longer then a season? "I do love him, Oberon, but I wonder sometimes if I love him because he is all I have known, if I love him because of the kindness he showed us after our parents… went away. I wonder if it is because he listened to me cry and sat next to my bed when the dreams were at their worst."  
  
"I don't know about you, but I think that those reasons are enough, Annalisa. You don't have to have some grand love affair with a dark stranger, sometimes a light friend will do just as well. Honestly, don't you think that after a millenium that Titania and I have grown board of one another occasionally? No, because we are all we knew for many years. Your mother was my wife once, after I had been married to Titania a number of times, I loved your mother, but I still always return to Titania. Perhaps you should give Jareth a chance to prove himself worthy of you." With that he was gone. She sighed, and walked out of the gardens in search of her fair friend. 


	5. Glorious Sadness

Dislaimer: Still not mine. Titania and Oberon are Will's, everyone else is mine...   
  
Chapter 5: Glorious sadness.  
  
  
Her search was fruitless. She finally gave up and went to the room that Titania had prepared specially for her, but had planned that she slept in it for only one night. She washed her face in the coldest water she could have brought up and brushed her hair, placing pins in strategic locations to give it the illusion of conforming to Fae Court standards. The dress she would wear for dinner was cream and burgundy, it hugged her body slightly, but the bodice was simple and lacked the extravagance of her other corsets. .   
  
She was nearly dressed when the knock came to her door.   
  
It was brief, and loud, it startled the brush out of her hand, it clattered to the floor. She left it, the only thing left to put on was the actual dress, and she was covered so she and went to the door. Jareth stood there. His face looked weary. "Come," she said quietly, moving aside to let him in. Behind his back she scurried all the maids out, her only words were, "Jareth can help me, shoo!" She thought not for a moment what the servants would say, only that he looked upset. She took him by the hand and eased him over to the lounge attached to her room. "Sit," they had thirty minutes before they needed to be down stairs for dinner, there was time to talk.   
  
"There are some things that I must tell you before you we say our vows, even if it is only for a season," he stopped her from hushing him. "No, you must listen. They are things that may break your heart, but they may ease you as well."  
  
"Go on."  
  
"I haven't taken a lover since you and Emily came to be with me."   
  
She nodded, surprised, but unwilling to interrupt him. There were always women in the castle, maids, courtiers, visiting dignitaries, and she had seen him in intimate discussion with them in public, but she had to admit to herself that she had never seen a woman coming from his chambers, or going in for that matter.   
  
"I thought that when you and Emmy came that you would be gone in a few years. So it was never important, but by the time that you were old enough to take a husband for yourself and to go back to your own land I felt that it would be wrong of me to bring another woman into the castle. My castle, full of nasty Goblins that the maids are threatening to boil in the pots, the Labyrinth filled with strange and terrible beasts, as it is, no longer belonged to me alone. The place is yours, every where I look around the place your influence is there. I felt it was wrong to take a woman as my lover when the only one that the Labyrinth would accept was you." Remaining quiet, she moved from her chair to sit next to him, and laid her head on his shoulder. He had many burdens on his soul, and she felt at ease for the first time in weeks.   
"When you came I know that my mother thought acting the part of the father would humble me, and teach me a lesson that would be good to know for when I take the throne, I fought it, but not nearly as actively as I once had. When I saw you laying there, bloodied and scared I couldn't help but wonder what kind of woman you would become, and then I was blessed with being able to find out." He smiled at her, and stroked her hair like he had done every night that she had a nightmare. "I know that you may not be happy with this marriage, but please, let me prove to you that I am what you need."  
  
"Shhh, Jareth," she dropped to her knee's on the floor and laid her head on his chest, the material of his shirt scratched her face. She was happy that he wanted to be her husband, but she wondered how long he would be happy with it. When he realized that she was nothing like the women that he usually preferred he would caste her aside, but it didn't matter to her anymore. She would have him for the season, and it would have to be enough.   
  
He pushed her away from him to look at her, he lifted her face and ran a finger over her chin and then bent and kissed her lips. She had been waiting for that moment for a long time, she couldn't remember a time that she didn't desire it, but now that it had come it felt surreal. His mouth was gentle and sweet, caressing her with a tenderness that she didn't believe could exist. He broke away and looked at her with his sad eyes.   
  
With no words, he got up and left. When she heard the door close she laid her head on the seat that he had just exited. There were no tears, there was no noise. She simply sat until she heard the toll ring the hour. She got up and finished dressing. She looked around the room, at herself in the mirror, and frowned. She wondered what was going through his mind, if what he had said was the truth. Deciding that the truth of the matter was of no consequence she left the solitude and comfort of her room for the dinning hall. 


	6. Sweet Madness

Disclaimer: Still not mine...   
  
Hope you like it...  
  
Please read and review!  
  
Chapter 6: Sweet Madness  
  
The dinning room bustled. There were so many people, but things moved swiftly and orderly. Titania had out done herself this year. The domed ceiling of the room was painted like the night sky, the walls were adorned with tapestries, all in the colors of Spring. A marriage was to take place during the festival and room had to be perfect for the occasion. Her son had never taken a wife before, and the fact that his new wife was the daughter of the once highest-ranking Duke in the High Queen's army said much for the marriage.   
  
There had been many nights where her mother would find her spying on the balls and feats that her parents once threw, but this was her first year at court. She was nervous with the attention that was being bestowed upon her. In the pit of her stomach she knew that something monumental was happening because of this marriage, but it went beyond her childhood dreams, it was something with the world at hand. When she entered the room many heads turned to greet her. She smiled and nodded and let her hand be kissed as was the custom, but she sought Jareth in every face she saw. She had to ask him why people were both pleased and apprehensive with her.   
  
A servant led her to her seat, she was genuinely surprised to be seated next to Titania, from what she could remember only the Queen's highest ranking warlords and dignitaries sat with her. Annalisa did find the conversation to be livelier then she had thought. The seat to her right was empty, but across from her and the empty seat were two familiar faces. "Lord Byron! Lord Hilliard! My, how many wonderful things can happen on one's wedding day!' She was genuinely happy to see them again. Lord Hilliard was the closest thing she had to a relative, besides Emily, he was her father's first wife's brother. A kind older Fae, he had lived many years when his sister was born, and would live many more after her death. Lord Byron had been her father's best friend. They had gone hunting together regularly, Annie had sat on his lap as a babe.  
  
"Ah, the soon to be High Princess! Lovely to see you! I always knew that you would catch young Jareth's eye. Even before your parents passed away!" Lord Hilliard kissed and patted her hand in a grandfatherly manner and she couldn't help but smile. It warmed her heart to see the man, she felt suddenly more comfortable with the thought of him being near on her wedding day. He hadn't been at the castle on the day of the massacre, but in her heart she knew that she would come to no harm with him and Jareth watching over her.   
  
The talk was small but she found that she was missing Jareth, it was nearing the end of the second course and he still hadn't arrived. Waiting for a break in the conversation she looked to Titania for answers. "Your Majesty, where is Jareth? I saw him not an hour ago."  
  
The older woman smiled. "Girl, he will be here soon, he is preparing your wedding gift. He promised to be here by the end of the fourth course. Be patient, he will be yours soon enough." The woman laughed at her own remark and her consort chuckled. The younger woman blushed a deep red but smiled at her mother in law to be.   
  
As promised before the end of the fourth course Jareth came striding in all his glory, his long blond hair was tied back, his manner was elegant and surreal. He wore the same clothes from earlier but there was a smug look on his face. He gracefully took the chair next to his bride to be and kissed her hand in greeting. "Lady. I hope you did not miss me to much while I was away." He nodded at his mother's acknowledgment of his presence.   
  
She smiled brightly, "Actually Alexander and Robert kept me most entertained."  
  
"You could have done worst for company." He smiled at her. "How are you gentleman? Is my fiancée treating you justly?" He looked at the two men, trying to remember exactly who they were, and weather or not he cared enough to be especially kind to them.  
  
Alexander Hilliard answered first, "Aye, she is a pleasure! Her mum would be proud of her!" He gave her a warm smile from across the table.   
  
"Here! Here! She is a vision of her mother, I would never have thought that the Goblin King would be so easily wed though. Even by someone you have known for the majority of her life." Annalisa's spine stiffened. It was nearly unheard of that the fostered child would wed the person fostering her, but they didn't understand that Jareth and she had never had a parent child relationship, it was always friends, and then suddenly she no longer felt like just friends. She smiled at Lord Byron, and under the table Jareth took her hand.   
  
Jareth nodded, "That is what my father tells me. He says that he is quite jealous of my Beauty." He winked at her and she felt her insides melt. This was terribly strange. Never before had he shown any more affection for her then when she was in the throws of a nightmare, or in the aftermath, but suddenly he was all smiles and handholding and "My Lady's" and "My Beauty's". He had only ever referred to her as Annalisa or Lady when he was concerned or annoyed with her. It was always Annie; weather they were in public or private. The conversation continued, but Annalisa didn't contribute. She was pondering the change in Jareth, they ate and she drank the wine. She was starting to feel as if perhaps she should have requested that it be watered down. Jareth's hand returned to her's after each course. She smiled and nodded when spoken to but was deep in thought.   
  
"Actually, Alexander is nearly my uncle. He is the brother of my father's first wife," she smiled warmly at him, "I recall being bounced on his knee when I was young. It is rather an honor for me to be able to see him again." She had been startled out of her reverie when asked what relationship she had with the older man.   
  
The last four courses of dinner came and went. She rose from her seat, and attempted to excuse herself with a minimal amount of fuss, but alas, Jareth demanded he be able to escort her to her room. They walked in silence, she found herself thinking of what was to come, she wished suddenly that she would have requested that her wine be watered. Her head swam gently along as they walked, her thoughts floating from one subject to another. She was feeling rather well for being drunk and terrified of what would happen when it was time to consummate their marriage. She was sure that the three-week timetable was for her benefit but she knew that she would prefer for it to happen quickly, she knew of the relationship between a man and a wife, and she was anxious to have him close. As an adult she had been tutored in the ways to please a man by the handmaiden that had been assigned to her. Annie thought of the woman, not much older then herself, explaining everything to her. At fist the strangeness and horror of the facts had disgusted her, but as she grew more accustomed to her adult body she found that her anticipation was growing. She had dreamed of him many a night and was well aware of what role she must take.   
  
"Annie, are you nervous?" He asked as they approached her door. He spoke softly, almost to quiet for her to hear him. He seemed nervous himself.   
  
"Yes, I am terrified," she leaned against the door, feeling slightly dizzy, wondering if he though she was referring to the physical or the emotional. "You know, I wanted you all along,' she closed her eyes for a moment, the room had spun a bit.   
  
His voice had the enchanting quality of always soothing her, she was far from the Labyrinth for the first time in seven years, though it felt like she had never been away. Her heart jumped when he leaned in close and touched her lips ever so gently with his own, "I never knew, had I this would have happened a long time ago, without having my mother decree it," his lips touched hers again, just as softly, just as passionately.   
  
"Well, I suppose that…" she paused, accepting another kiss. Her stomach was playing tospy turvy with her, but she was amused that he seemed to be trying to shut her up. "Is this your way of saying shut up…" once again those lips covered her. His body pushed against her this time, and instead of being soft and only just guiding her mouth, he was more forceful. Instead of guiding her he was directing her, her body was melting and his arms caught her before her knees gave out.  
  
He pulled away for a moment, "You know, we have nearly four hours before midnight," he whispered into her ear in between kisses on her neck. "That would be enough time for you to catch a nap."  
  
"I, but…" She paused, looking panicked. He had been doing the most wonderful things to her, and her body was beginning to refuse to do what she told it. Her left hand was toying with the hair that lay so softly on his shoulders and her other hand was cupping his face, though she was incredibly embarrassed about it.   
  
"Oh, you want me to stay, well since you have asked me so kindly I couldn't possibly refuse!" laughter shinned in his eyes, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pushed the door open. The fire was high in the fireplace, keeping the room wonderfully warm, it was the only light and it cast dark shadows in every corner of the room.   
  
The door closed behind them. They both spoke the words of a privacy spell, laughing at each other's precautions. "What exactly were you planning Lady Kildalton?"  
  
"I was planning on a nice long chat, what where you planning on Your Highness?" She smiled beguilingly at him, her eyes large and shinning with the mirth of the moment. This couldn't possibly be real, it was a dream, a wonderful dream that would leave her empty in the morning, but it didn't matter, he was hers for the moment.   
  
He propelled her across the room, to sit beside him on the lounge. Her body responded delightfully to his touches, a shiver here, a gasp of air there. Jareth could only be called an experienced lover, he had been alive for a long time, and had been the pleasure seeker that many a Fae became with age, but never had he felt truly fulfilled by another. Though inexperienced, she threaded her hands into his hair and knew when to push against him, when to push his hands away to heighten the experience. He knew that she was still innocent, he also knew about her handmaiden, and the woman's quest to educate her charge in the ways of the Fae.  
  
She hungered for him, her anxiety gone, for she had dreamed of this moment, and there was nothing different except perhaps that the chance still stood that this may be real. Her caressed his chest, and in a fit of annoyance she began to deftly unbutton his shit, underneath was a white silk shirt. Her hands ran over the fabric and felt the muscles underneath. The passion of the moment built and all the walls of restraint that they had shown in the last few months came crashing down. Not remembering how they arrived there, he laid her down gently on the royal blue coverlet, looking upon her with all the pent up emotion on his face. Their eyes locked he took her innocence and she gladly gave it. The mahogany bed that was the centerpiece of the room was like an ocean to the drowning lovers. The world was lost to them, lost in one another, their bodies and souls becoming one in the throws of ecstasy.   
  
==================  
  
Jareth rolled over, his legs were tangled in the sheets of the bed but reached to pull her close, it was nearly time to dress for the ceremony. He was startled to find she was not there, but opening his eyes found her sitting up, knee's against her chin watching him. A smile played on her lips, her head tilted as if she were listening for something. "You know, you look mad grinning like that?" He said, his face breaking out into a wide smile.   
  
"Do I? Well then I shall frown," she did a long comical look that was accompanied by doe eyes and much lash waving. Jareth laughed, which turned her "sad" face into a grin again.   
  
"You looked concerned about something? What is it?" He pushed her down on the bed and rested his head on the alcove that her tummy and legs made.   
  
"Did I?"  
  
"You won't get anywhere answering my questions with questions of your own… Now… out with it!" He ran a finger down her leg to her calf and back again.  
"I was wondering what in the world would my mother think of me? Then I was wondering what you mother would think about our consummating the marriage before we were ever married, though I imagine that she already knows from the noise that we were making. Aelis come in and nearly killed herself running out. It isn't against any rules what we have done is it?" She looked down at her with concern, though she didn't seem to be that worried about it.   
  
He laughed, "Annie, my darling, we've done nothing wrong, it is generally considered to be against etiquette, but etiquette be damned. To be perfectly honest, she probably ran out of here like all the hounds of hell were chasing her because I am sure that my mother has spies on us. She certainly didn't expect us to be intimate yet, that is why she gave us three weeks. She probably believed that we had been arguing. I guess the game is on her."  
  
"We had been arguing," she said quietly.   
  
There was always something tragic in her eyes, and her face was filled with something that he couldn't place. A memory of the past marring the wonder of the moment? Regret over giving herself to him, when she could have called the whole thing off easily and begged for another in his stead. He saw many things on her face, and in her heart, but it seemed as if she was closing herself off again. She watched the night breeze waft through the curtains gently, her eyes taking on that glazed looked at she was getting lately. "Tell me what is heavy on your soul, lady. I may be able to help you."  
  
"I wish my mother was here."  
  
"She is in spirit."  
  
"No, I mean really here. I can't very well ask her spirit what to do about the castle. Or about having children or if I should be terrified at the prospect of becoming the High Queen one day, or even about being a Goblin Queen, or the Duchess Kildalton. I had never even thought that I was actually the Duchess Kildalton until Titania referred to me by it. I have done nothing to deserve the title. It is just lands plagued by trolls and creatures that my family tried to protect that ended up destroying them. " He did not interrupt her, because it had been a long time since she had sat and rambled on to him. He had missed it more then he ever guessed. "What would she say about me marrying the King of Goblins. The Prince they made a King to humble him so that when he took the High Throne he would be a better ruler. However, somehow even against their best wishes he became more pompous and in a strange occurrence the child Duchess Kildalton and her only living sibling came to his Labyrinth, on purpose, for safety. He took them in and befriended the eldest, and loved the youngest like his own, and though he practically raised the children they ended up being decreed by his parents to marry the lowly young duchess, far beneath his station."   
  
A knock broke the tangent and with a wave of her hand they were dressed again. All magic has a side effect on the world. Weather it is sparkles, or a scent or a sound, when magic is used there is something that happens, usually the signature as it is normally referred to is the same in families, and when there are children, one of the parents signatures is passed on to the child. Jareth noticed the metallic taste in the air, and smiled when her mistress let Aelis into the room. "Lady, it is time to prepare for the nuptials." The woman curtsied to her king and left to draw the water for her mistress' bath.   
  
"I suppose that means you must go as well."   
  
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers one right after the other. "Yes, but soon you will be mine again, Annalisa Kildalton, you will be the Goblin Queen and mine for a season. Mine forever." He smiled and took his leave.   
  
Annalisa bit her lip and tried to decide how she was going to wear her hair. 


	7. A Moment In Time

Disclaimer: Not mine, just taking it out for a quick stroll...   
  
A/N: The "ritual" was not taken from anywhere really... It is a collection of different handfasting and wiccan marriages that I have seen performed.   
  
Chapter 7: A Moment in Time  
  
  
The bath water steamed and turned the bathroom into a fragrant, foggy paradise. Aelis had left her mistress to soak for a few minutes while she laid out the gown that she would wear to the ritual. It would be physically taxing for her, for the first time. Their souls were bound for the season, after that the bond would dispel and whatever bond had grown and stood fast, or grown and faded would remain strong or slip away and the marriage would be over.   
  
Aelis had tried to help her lady but the woman seemed content to bath herself, the maid wondered if her mistress' behavior had to do with the happenings of earlier that evening. She had been positive that they had never been "together" in that way, but apparently she was mistaken, the way that they lay in each other's arms when she came in denoted a long time relationship.   
  
She lay in the water up to her chin, the oils that Aelis had placed in her bath were the same ones she always did, therapeutic to help ease her troubled mind and usually help her sleep. Tonight though the bath simply furthered the thoughts of her mother. She missed the Labyrinth, but could not reach her essence from the high courts castle. She wondered if Emily would be present for the ritual, she had been with the other fae children over dinner and though she had requested the girl come to her room afterward she was glad that she hadn't interrupted. Her mind drifted through a mired of thoughts, from her mother and sister to her soon to be husband, to what had happened earlier. She felt her stomach tighten as the butterflies raided her tummy. She giggled at the thought of his arms around her, or his hands upon her. She dropped down under the water fully to get the rest of her hair wet. Carefully sustaining herself with her magic she stayed under letting the heat wash away her anxieties and the smell of him from her body, until Aelis come in to help her wash her hair.   
  
"Aelis, why is it that the courtiers are treating me differently?" She asked as the woman worked thick shampoo into her hair. She had always been a confidant, even when Jareth would not do.  
  
"Well, milady. I am sure it is because eventually you will become High Queen. Titania and Oberon have been on the throne for twelve thousand years and it is time for new leadership." She massaged her lady's scalp gently as she spoke.   
  
Annalisa chewed her lip for a moment, "New leadership? I expected them to live forever," she said quietly.  
  
The older woman laughed, "No, Lady, not die, but go on. They are far too powerful to pass from this realm at the hands of anyone but themselves. The court is worried that your soon to be husband hasn't matured enough for the station, and they worry about how much of a strain that your families passing has put on you and will it threaten the thrown." Aelis hummed to her charge while rinsing away the water.   
  
"But, Aelis, I wouldn't be queen for a long time. We would have plenty of time to be ready to take the station."  
  
Aelis stopped for a moment. "How old do you think King Jareth's parents are milady? It is rumored that they grow tired of this world."  
  
The young woman frowned. "How do you know all about this?"  
  
"Because I have ears, lady, no other reason. Sometimes people are so preoccupied with their own words they don't have time to listen to the words of others. Now, its time to dry off and dress. I will be in the bedroom," she took her leave from her lady and readied the scents for her body and the silk knickers that Titania had decided she would wear. She was surprised that her lady had been so sheltered from court life. Wondering what else that her liege's spoke about when they were alone, she finished her work. Knowing Jareth it would probably be things like weather or not peonies would be okay to plant in the hedge maze, or if the fairies could be talked into keeping the walls free of weeds in the outer maze. Aelis giggled to herself, she had been brought to the castle fifteen years ago, when it became obvious that Annalisa needed a hand maiden, she remembered him instructing her to instruct the girl in "all" things that she would need to know. Aelis was happy to comply and did her best to rear the girl with court standards. Apparently she had done an acceptable job because her charge was marrying the High Prince in less then an hour.   
  
She dried off with the big fluffy towels that Titania had made sure where in her bathing chamber and towel dried her hair. It had been such a lovely few hours since dinner was over, and she was interested in hearing more about the ritual that was to take place. She knew enough to know that her part was simple. She sang the songs that every Fae knew with her husband, and danced, but the details were lost to her. "Aelis, how in…" she paused seeing her dress for the first time. "Oh," her eyes widened to the size of saucers.   
  
"Queen Titania choose it especially for you. I have had it in your closet for two weeks." Aelis said proudly. Her charge starred at the dress while slipping into the beautifully crafter knickers, hose and corset. She felt like a stuffed sausage for a moment, but her body adjusted to it and she stepped into the first underskirt.   
  
The dress was made out of something that could only be akin to spider webs. It was so see through Annalisa blushed at the mere thought, it seemed more risqué then being naked. There was a long skirt of peach, then another shorter one of pale blue, and then green, pink, purple and yellow, then over the skirts was another longer skirt of translucent white. She looked like an upside down flower bud. The surcoat fit snugly against her bodice, and covering the skirt to her hips where there were long slits to show the skirt. The neckline was low and ruffled to hide the cleavage from the corset. The surcoat was a green so dark it was nearly black. "Lady, you look incredible. King Jareth will probably attack you the minute he sees you."  
  
She smiled into the mirror, her hair was braided in a crown around her head and she suddenly felt very adult. "Well, if he does then I suppose I will just have to throw the skirt over my head," her eyes widened again. "Oh, goodness, I'm not even married yet and I sound like those old women!" She laughed and slipped into white slippers.   
  
She had been dressed for only a few minutes when the knock alerted them to the time. Aelis opened it and Titania's personal handmaiden smiled at Annalisa, "Oh, you are so beautiful lady! It is very fitting that you are the loveliest woman at Court. There are many women very jealous of you tonight."   
  
"Thank you," she said quietly, she was thinking of her mother again. Rebecca had been creeping into her mind over and over in the last few months. She wondered about her mother, and her ways, and the ways of her clan. There were still people on that land, but did she have the strength of heart and character to take the lands back once again and fulfill her seat as Duchess. She knew that becoming Jareth's wife would still require her to care for the Kildalton fief but she considered handing it over to Emily when she was old enough to take the burden on. As Jareth's first wife she would become High Queen no matter who else he wed, and so perhaps to keep Emily happy, and to give her something to do other then learning needle point she could have her taught in the ways of a Duchess.   
  
As they walked down the hall together, she felt a sense of dread. Not in marrying Jareth, the very idea of sharing his life made her stomach flip, but she had the distinct feeling that something was not as it should be. The antechamber they deposited her into was tastefully decorated. She sat down and waited. Hoping that soon it would all begin. In a few moments Titania entered the room "You look wonderful! Are you happy with this match, Annalisa?" she sat down next to her soon to be daughter in law. "Really, forget I am the Queen, and Jareth's mother and tell me. Are you pleased."  
  
"Yes," she said quickly. "I just, I know that Jareth says that he loves me, and shows that he does," she smiled in remembrance of earlier, "but I wonder how he could. I am so different from any other woman that I have known him to take a fancy too. He likes them tall and blond. Then there is ruddy dud me."  
  
Titania pattered the young woman's hand. "Listen to this, it has nothing to do with your looks or even theirs, love is blind, love is deaf, and love easily forgets. He doesn't love you because you are a red haired little jewel, or would he love you more if you were a rail thin yellow haired vixen. He loves you because you are his equal, in magic, in heart, in stubbornness. You will keep him on his toes through out eternity. That's what he needs, and you need someone that will hold your hand when you feel lonely for your family. When Emily becomes a woman herself she will need both of you to instruct her into adulthood. He loves you both, but lucky you, you get to share his bed."  
  
She blushed deeply but hugged Titania just the same. "Do you think we will be happy?"  
  
"Oh, who is to say… For a while, I am sure, but eventually you will feel the pulling of another at your heart and Jareth will no longer be the Knight that you are so endeared to. But perhaps that will not happen… Perhaps you will love him always, but remember, that for that season that you love each other you will have memories for your life time." Titania let her think on it for a few minutes, then took the girls hand and led her into the room. There was a circle of the most powerful Fae in the realm. Her eyes widened at the sight of power been used.   
  
Jareth stood at the head of the circle, his father to his right, it was assumable she would be at his left. He looked worried, his brow creased, but she smiled and looked at each person in turn. She knew what her duty was.   
  
Titania led her to the back of the circle and intoned the words of the marriage ritual.   
  
"Those who have come before.   
And those that shall come to pass.   
We gather here to witness the bonding of   
Jareth Le Fae, son of Oberon, High Prince of the Fae Court, King of the Goblins, Ruler of the Labyrinth. And Annalisa Kildalton, daughter of Rebecca, High Duchess of the Fae Court, Chieftain of the Druid Clans, and Friend of the Labyrinth " Titania stopped and the two fae in front of her parted.   
  
Annalisa was terrified, there was so much magic being used her ears started to ring. She heard the words that Titania was intoning, and knew that she was considered a High Duchess, as well as a Queen of the Druids, but her family had died off, she and her sister were the last. She looked around the room for Emily, and beside Lord Hilliard the girl sat and looked wide eyed around the room, "She's a Chieftain? I thought she wouldn't be a queen till afterwards. Does that make me a Princess?" Annalisa could make out the words by reading the girls face and lips. Lord Hilliard smiled and answered her with a simple yes.   
  
"Your mother should be doing this, Annalisa, but I will stand in for her," Titania whispered.   
  
They walked into the circle.   
  
As they stepped into the circle time seemed to slow, in fact, it didn't, but the preception of time was important, because for a moment, Annalisa Kildalton saw her mother in the mists of the magic around her. Her mother spoke to her, in the words that only they would understand and for a moment the Duchess thought she may faint. But as the shock wore off as she listened to the High Queen she found something in herself that she was naught oft to see.   
  
"Jareth, King of the Goblins, come into the circle." He looked utterly serious and came to meet her in the center, his father a step behind him.   
  
Oberon spoke next, "Jareth, do you take this woman as your equal in all things, her name, her heart and her soul?"  
  
"Yes, I take Annalisa, High Duchess, Chieftain of the Druid clans, as my equal in all things. Her name, her heart and her soul."  
  
Titania intoned, "Annalisa, do you take this man as your equal in all things, his name, his heart and his soul?"  
  
She had never really thought of being the Chieftain, her children would have to be the heir to that throne, there was no way that she could pass it on to Emily. She had never really thought about it before. Her family had been dead almost half of her life, and she was so accustomed to be a guest in the Goblin Kings home she never wondered why she would be chosen to foster with a King. She smiled at Jareth, and wondered if this was the right thing to do, what her people would have said, if they would rise up in anger at her marriage. She had been thinking a lot about her family, and for some reason, as she stood in the circle with the man that would be her husband, she felt danger.   
  
That magic circled around her, faster and faster, stronger and stronger. Visions were coming to her, making her dizzy. Memories were flooding into her, and suddenly she knew what was wrong. From the recesses of her mind she felt the Labyrinth cringe as anger came flooding into her. /You have to marry him for your protection, girl/ She pleaded very faintly.   
  
Over the din of people watching her eyes meet Lord Hilliard and then Lord Byron and her face twisted into a sneer. /As soon as the vows are done they are going to die horrible deaths/.  
  
/Just continue the ritual and all will be well/  
  
"Yes, I Annalisa Kildalton, Daughter of Rebecca, True Chieftain of the Druid Clans will make Jareth, son of Oberon, King of the Goblins my equal in all things. In name, heart and soul."   
  
He looked at her quizzically, wondering what the sudden change was, she urged the Labyrinth to tell him, she was so faint though, it was taking much of her energy to calm her for the moment. The happening were not Jareth's fault, he knew nothing of it, and he would soon be her husband, and he would not understand her need for vengeance, but if he was unhappy he needed only be her husband for a season.  
  
Together Titania and Oberon finished the ritual, "Then let their souls be bonded in this ritual, and let their love stand for all time." The magic of the circle cycloned around them, then in a rush entered them, and for the second time in her short life, Annalisa Kildalton felt the world slow down.   
  
"Annie, what is wrong," She heard his voice in her head, strong with concern.  
  
"I know the truth Jareth, it took a magical gathering like this to wake it from my memory, or give enough leeway to let her in, but I know the truth. Hilliard and Byron are dead men. They set up the whole thing. They killed my clan, and then thought that they could rule the Druid Clans through me. My mother has spoken to me and decreed what will rest her spirit." She looked wild with her hair swirling and her eyes bright. He wondered for a moment if anyone was peeking into their thoughts, but it didn't matter. There would be blood on the Chieftains hands that night, and it would please him greatly to have vengeance on the men that hurt his beloved so.  
  
The ritual ended with out flare, the magic dissipating and a kiss to lock them to one another. She felt her stomach tighten. It was good to be his partner, though Aelis had said she would feel differently, she did not, she still felt the hot urge to be with him.   
  
Emily came running through the crowd, under legs, over feet, and went head long into her sisters waiting arms. She picked her up easily. "Goodness, aren't you an excited little bug today!" she laughed.  
  
"Are you really a Queen now?" She asked excitedly.  
  
"Yes, I suppose I am."  
  
"Can I be a princess?" the girl asked suddenly very serious. Annalisa looked over her head to Jareth, knowing what he thought before nearly before he thought it.   
  
The new Goblin Queen turned to her mother-in-law. "Your Highness, I would like to petition the court for the right of true parentage over Emily Kildalton, I am the last of her blood, and feel it my duty to raise her and love her as my own child."  
  
"Does your husband agree. Chieftain?"  
  
"I do, mother, I would be a proud man to have such a family." He smiled at his wife and her sister. /What are you doing, Annalisa?/  
  
/They want those lands for some reason, and I want to make sure that it will not be as easy as simply killing me to take them./ She smiled and when Titania decreed it was to be so there a "Hurrah" went up around the room except from two people.   
  
Titania saw the worried look from her son and daughter in law. She wondered what happened in that circle, and decided that perhaps there should be guard on their room for the rest of the festival. 


	8. Something Wicked

Disclaimer: Not mine... tra la la  
  
Chapter 8: Something Wicked  
  
  
  
The celebration after the nuptials was loud, music and conversation wafted into every corner of the room. Jareth and Annalisa danced, Jareth danced with Emily, laughing as the girl giggled because she was feeling very grown up. Everyone drank and was marry, except for a short list of people. Lord Byron looked at his friend with annoyance harsh on his thin hard face. "She suspects something. There was a surge of magic when they were in the circle, I wonder if she knows." He said quietly.  
  
Lord Hilliard laughed, "There is no way she could know anything, the trolls involved are dead, her family is dead, Jorge is dead. No one alive knows anything about it. Mummy dearest was banished. She is tired and tense because she just married the Goblin King. There is nothing wrong." He slapped his friend on the back, this was going to be to easy. Now that she was the wife of the Goblin King she would have to much to do with making his heirs and keeping her sister out of trouble to bother with Kildalton Glen, it would be easy to ask her to care for it himself. No one else needs die.  
  
/Something wicked this way comes/  
  
Lord Byron and Lord Hilliard walked to see the happy trio. Both had smiles on their faces, that if the new couple hadn't known better would have been mistaken for real. "Congratulations, my dearest! It is wonderful to hear you have claimed the fief. I am sure you will do a wonderful job rebuilding it." She frowned. She hadn't really decided what she was going to do with the land, it was interesting that they seemed to think they could read her mind.  
  
"Actually, I was going to tear everything down and make it an area for cattle. The trolls may eat some of the cattle, but at least people won't be a stake." She said, her face very serious, she had decided to kill all the trolls, they would be an extinct race very shortly, along with two Lords that found the taste of betrayal was sweeter then loyalty.  
  
Lord Byron looked concerned for a minute. "Well, madam, it is your right, but perhaps you should think of those that are living there now?"  
  
"Oh, yes, living there, but living in fear. Fear of the trolls, of the wyverns. Its no way to live, and I will move them all the a nice place in the Labyrinth where they can be safe."  
  
/In the Labyrinth? / Jareth intruded on her thoughts, reading them carefully, /Oh, darling, let them think what they will, it won't matter soon. /  
  
/Yes, Jareth, it will. Even after they are dead I will have to explain things to myself and if they have any inkling that I am afraid of them, or that I am no longer afraid of the glen then they will strike, and not realize I know their plan. /  
  
Lord Byron saw her face, the expression there changed rapidly, and he knew there was something afoot. "But, the druids? There will be a war?" She was behaving differently, there was defiance in her eyes that he had never seen, she was obviously not the quiet and wayward child that he remembered, but a woman with idea's that may be beyond her station.  
  
"How can my clans war amongst themselves. There will be no war."  
  
"Are you alright, my lady?" Byron was feeling more and more agitated the more she spoke.  
  
"Yes, I am fine, I am just rather tired. If everyone would excuse me it has been a rather long day, and far past Emmy's bedtime. She looked to the nearest clock and found it past four in the morning. She gathered up the slumping Emmy and took her off to bed. Jareth followed, shaking hands with a few men before he caught up with her.  
  
"Jareth, I think that I may need to go home." She said quietly, not wanting to wake the girl who had collapsed in her arms as soon as they were away from the noise.  
  
"Home? No one will harm you here, you know that Annie," he frowned, finding that he was once again unsure of her meaning, but the whimper from the sleeping girl in her arms made him smile. "Come, let us be gone from here. I am sure my mother will understand." They disappeared in a flash of light and there was a metallic taste in the air.  
  
==============  
  
They appeared in Jareth's room. It has all in mahogany and dark velvet, just like in the castle beyond the Goblin City. Jareth pulled away the covers and Annalisa placed the sleeping child in the bed. The young woman placed a kiss on her sister's forehead and frowned. "I have to go to the Glade, Jareth. I knew so little before today." She produced a crystal, much the same as the ones that Jareth was infamous for. Her crystal's though, instead of being clear and sparkling, were tinted in green, and within a blue light swirled slowly, revealing the magic of the ball. "From the bodies and magic that harms, from the hearts that mean ill, from the souls that do evil protect this child." She threw the crystal up, and just before it hit the high ceiling of the room it exploded and rained sparks of green and blue magical fire down upon the room. Each held on for a moment before disappearing, and the taste of tin hung in the air for long minutes.  
  
She had found in her studies with Jareth on Fae magic, and speaking with different scholar's of the druidic magic that her family had specialized in that only the most powerful spells required a crystal. Most of their magic was pulled from the ground, and the land around them. Though, the next spells that she caste was a simple spell, the first summoning spell that she had learned she felt that it required a crystal. The crystal was the same green tinted with a blue light within. Instead of throwing the crystal she cradled it in her arms and softly chanted. Jareth wondered what she was doing, but made sure to be quiet. He was not one to interrupt a master at work and she was pulling a lot of magic from the earth, he could see it swirling about her feet.  
  
He was rather surprised when it turned into a small furry animal that squeaked at him from its place in her arms. He was unfamiliar with the type of creature that it was, though it did look a lot like a small furry ball of something mammalian. She spoke quietly to it and it whimpered. "Please, watch over her, she is nice and warm and important to me, so please, be her guardian and I will return you home when I come back. It won't be long." She placed the ball onto the bed and it half hopped to cuddle into Emily's arms.  
  
Looking up she studied his face. His beautifully sharp features, his deep mismatched eyes. She could read his soul there; they were full of emotion. She had been considering for a long time going home, even before they had begun to argue, but now it didn't matter anymore. The Labyrinth was her home. A place that she could be happy in, but there was something nagging at her. Something telling her that she needed to see her home, before choosing another. "Come with me to the Glade, Jareth."  
  
"Tonight? Now?"  
  
"Yes, it is nearly morning. I promise that we won't be there for a long time."  
  
"Don't you want to wait for Emmy to wake up? She doesn't even remember it."  
  
"I don't want her to see it if it is still saturated with the evil. Please, come with me. Just this once." Her voice was pleading, but she knew he would come. He had told her once that if she wanted he would destroy the place, taking it from the world along with her nightmares.  
  
"Alright, darling, but you will have to take us there. It is your land, and you are the one connected with it."  
  
She nodded and took his hand, then pushed to her tiptoes and kissed his thin soft lips. "Away," she whispered, and closed her eyes.  
  
=================  
  
  
  
Every Kingdom of the Underground has a monarch of some kind, weather it is Queen or King, or Chieftain or Czar. Depending on the people and whom they chose to bond with the land hundreds of thousands of years ago after the Fae Wars. At the time it was a solemn vow that Fae took with the land, and the land became sentient, helping the leader care and protect the land and the people, monsters and creatures of the land.  
  
Just as Jareth took the vow and joined the Labyrinth, who later bonded with two girls, Annalisa's father took the vow, and his father before him. There had never been a female of the line, but at last the time had come.  
  
Before Annalisa Kildalton, Chieftain of the Kildalton Clans, and Chieftain of the Druids opened her eyes she felt the land touch her soul, and accept her as its ruler. The Glade, much like the Labyrinth in its way, having a purpose unlike any other land in the Underground, called to her. It was hurt. The moment that Annalisa's father had died the bond had jumped to the eldest living child, and the Glade knew that the danger was not over, so asked her sister land, the Labyrinth to care for the girls.  
  
Duchess Kildalton opened her eyes, and was stunned at what she found. The courtyard was in disrepair, but nothing like her dreams had insisted that the place look like. The hedges were overgrown and the fountain had sprouted, but the cobbles were safe in their nukes and crannies. She half remembered Jareth saying that they would take the bodies away so that when she wished to return there would be no reason for her to fret. Jareth slipped his hand into hers, and they walked forward.  
  
The Glade was happy she had returned. It cooed and loved on her, hoping that she would decide to stay. There was nothing that would make her happier then if her Lady stayed. Annie in turn cooed and soothed the Glade. It was a place of natural magic, the magic that allowed creatures like the Trolls to survive, that allowed the pixies and nymphs, and fairies and dwarves that populated the Labyrinth to live. She entered her mother's parlor and felt her body tighten. There was no blood, or bodies, everything had been put into its place, but the carpet was dusty and the fire had gone out long ago. She urged the fire to light, and urged the dust to take its leave, it would be happier outside anyway.  
  
"Why can I communicate with the Labyrinth and the Glade?" She turned to Jareth after the room was back to normal. She was under the impression that this was strange.  
  
"Because you have soul bonded with both of them."  
  
"But, I thought it was only with you I was bonded."  
  
"Well, we are bonded by marriage, and the seasons. You are bonded with them because their magic is close, like they are sisters. The Labyrinth excepted you and treated you as if you were her mistress, and the Glade is as well. The Glade will be sad with out you, but since you are planning on using the land for cattle it shouldn't be a problem."  
  
"Cattle? Oh, no, I never intended it for cattle Jareth. I want to make it safe. The trolls had never held a threat as long as the wards were safe, but Hilliard and Byron found a way to break the wards. It wasn't the trolls that did this, they would have never attacked those that protected them." She thought for a minute, staring into the fire. "Perhaps if I explain to the Glade that they are bad men and the wards must be protected at all costs the land will be fine."  
  
/Glade, I need you to listen to me closely/  
  
/Yes, Lady? How can I be of help? /  
  
Annalisa paused for a moment. /I have wed the Goblin King. I need to be with him, but I want you to be safe as well. I promise to come every day and be with you, but you must do me a favor. /  
  
/Anything lady! /  
  
/Good, you know Lord Hilliard and Lord Byron? /  
  
She felt the dread of the Glade filling her, and making her weak. /Yes, Lady. / The reply was sad and scared.  
  
/What is it? Why are you so afraid? /  
  
/They tricked me, Lady, they told me that they were trying to warn your mother of danger, but they hurt everyone, I wouldn't let them hurt you and Emily. They were angry and sent the Trolls after you, but you escaped and I sent you to the Labyrinth. /  
  
She found herself close to tears, so it was not by chance that she and Emily had ended up with in the mazes of the Labyrinth. She found that it was strange and wonderful at the same time, but knew she needed to continue. /Very well. You know that they must never set foot within the bounds of this castle again, right? You know that my children and Emily will stay and protect you after I am gone, right? /  
  
/Yea, lady. /  
  
/Good, now, we are going to replace the wards, and neither of those men will ever step foot on this land again. If they try you will warn me immediately, no matter where I am, right? /  
  
/Yea, lady. /  
  
/Good, let us begin. /  
  
She looked at her husband, and smiled. The land was behaving exactly as she needed it to. It was pushing magic into her so that she could shape it into the wards. Slowly at first as she struggled to place everything where it needed it to go, but as she got the hang of it the magic came faster and faster until there was a many layered egg around the borders of her kingdom. Nothing but the most powerful Fae magic in the realm would be able to break the wards that she had put up in fear, and love. They were powerful forces and she built upon them and laid the brickwork for the protection of her family for ages to come. It would be a long while before those wards would need tending to. 


	9. An Unexpected Visitor

Disclaimer: The labyrinth is not mine, unfortunately. Though, Aelis, Adam, Annalisa, Emily, Byron and Hilliard are mine, as well as the Glade and the differences between the "normal" fae and the druidic fae. Any question comments or jeers and leers please direct to the review board… Thank you!  
  
Enjoy!  
  
  
  
Chapter 9: An Unexpected Visitor.  
  
The summer passed softly, the storms were gentle, and the heat had never been as mild. Perhaps it was a good omen. The Glade returned to it's former glory gladly, the castle restructured and redecorated to be more pleasant, the grounds of the castle were repaired with the help of goblin and dwarven stone masons and crafters from all over the kingdoms. They were glade to help the place that their races had emerged from the meadow newly born and spread to the far reaches of the kingdom.  
  
The season had past, but the new couple didn't notice, they were preoccupied, with each other. Their lives had nearly returned to normal, Annie's nightmares plagued her from time to time, but now that she was sharing a bedroom and a life with the Goblin King she was much less reluctant to have him let her dream the dreamless sleep.  
  
Emily was fascinated by all manners of things in the Glade. There were nixies and pixies and dryads for her to play with galore, as well as learning about the plant life and how occasionally new races would emerge from the meadows. All the while her sister supervised the castle's rebuilding, and slowly the druids came out of the meadow and moved back into the villages that had been rebuilt.  
  
Near the end of the summer, as the tree's started to show their true colors and the Glade was a rich blanket of burnt umber, maroon, and every green that they eye could comprehend. The nights grew colder, and Annie found she had a secret.  
  
It had started nearly a month and a half after the wedding, she had been feeling faint while supervising a dwarven team that were re-cobbling the main courtyard. She had managed to get to a secluded spot and sit down before her stomach decided that it wasn't going to behave and relieved her of her morning and afternoon meals. Thinking nothing of it other then she had been overexciting herself she stayed in bed for a few days. But the sickness and dizziness stayed, finally, after the knowing stares from Aelis had become too much, and a month of hiding her illness from her family became to much she summoned a doctor to her.  
  
"Your highness, there is nothing wrong with you." The doctor smiled at her at her examination. His large kind brown eyes were the eyes of a truly elderly fae. His salt and pepper hair noted that he was far older then even Oberon and Titania.  
  
"They why have I been getting sick and fainting all the time?" She was concerned and suddenly worried that he was making fun of her. She had him meet her in the castle beyond the Glade, afraid that a doctor's visit would Jareth of danger, but perhaps there was no danger.  
  
"There is nothing wrong with you that twenty four months and some onion pudding wouldn't fix." He said, then as confusion settled deeper on her features he laughed. "You are pregnant, your highness, not dying. I expect you are only a few months along."  
  
Annalisa Kildalton, Goblin Queen, Chieftain of The Druids, Protector of the Glade and the Labyrinth, a woman of power and pose, stubborn and wise, willing to do what she must for the safety of her loved ones, heard these words, and promptly fainted.  
  
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"I'm pregnant.'  
  
"I know, lady." Aelis tried to smile but couldn't, so she turned from her lady and concentrated on making her bed. She had forgotten that her lady knew very little about the birthing of children. It wasn't expected that she would need to know so soon. Most fae were fertile very rarely, and when they did manage to get with child the pregnancy was very hard for the mother and more often then not resulted in the death of mother or child.  
  
"Aren't you happy?"  
  
"Yes, I am very happy for you lady, but I am worried as well. Pregnancies are very hard on women and you or the baby may not survive it."  
  
Annalisa frowned, then understanding dawned on her face. "Oh, you think… No, Aelis, I'm a druid."  
  
It was the handmaiden's turn to look confused. "Why does that matter?"  
  
"Druid's bare children more like human's. Our gestational period is shorter and the fierceness of the pregnancy is much less. We have specialized in Life Magic for hundreds of thousands of years. My mother had two children, but only because she wanted no more, my father's first wife had six sons, all within a hundred years." Annie smiled at her friend. Confusion was wiped away by horror.  
  
"Six in a hundred years? My goodness, you druids are the baby makers aren't you." Fae generally had no more then a child or two in a thousand years, but six in one hundred was as if a woman had three sets of triples in three years. "Well, then I am happy for you, does Jareth know what kind of baby mill you are going to be? He has been so busy adopting out children that were wished away to him he may be quit surprised."  
  
Annie smiled, she had thought of that. He hadn't been reluctant to take on her and her sister, so perhaps he would be happy. She was astonished to find that the druids family ways had been kept quiet for so long, but she supposed that druid parents didn't want to be petitioned to give up their children to lords that may have more sway over them, so it was kept quiet. "Nay, he doesn't know. I think I will tell him tonight, it wouldn't be kind to wait any longer."  
  
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Not so far away from the room that Aelis and Annie spoke in hushed tones there was another private conversation going on. This one, however, was not spoken in the hushed tones of two women, but a brawl was brewing between three men.  
  
Lord Hilliard was getting aggravated with his jumpy compatriots. "No, she is not. They have only been married for three months. The season is nearly over, there is no way that it's possible for her to be pregnant yet."  
  
"You don't know enough of the druids Hilliard. They always have children in tow."  
  
"Because the Druids and the Goblin King have worked so closely for so many years. None of those children are theirs. They are almost all, human children that were wished away." He sighed and sipped at his snifter of brandy. "What would it matter if she was pregnant or not anyway, she knows nothing. If she had surely Jareth would have had us on trial three months ago."  
  
Byron and Adam frowned. This was not acceptable. He was far from being worried about the chance that the plan that they had been cultivating for years would fall apart easily if there was an heir to the throne that had a hold to both the Labyrinth and the Glade. The magic of both together would be far to strong to conquer. Byron had tested the wards on the Glade in the last days and found them to be impenetrable, whoever had laid the wards, was not joking. He cringed to think that it might have been Annalisa that wielded that much power to set them. He hoped it was not. "So what is the next part of our plan? Do we just kill her and get it over with? I mean, I found a way to break the wards once, I can do it again. She is now married and possibly with child, so we can simply kill her and be done with it, or let her continue to be a liability." Byron didn't want to kill her, but if it was necessary then it was necessary. There was no way that he was putting his neck on the line because she was beautiful.  
  
Hilliard rose a brow at his companions. Adam hadn't spoken yet, he was annoyed with both Byron and Hilliard. Why kill her when the marriage would simply be ended and one of them could marry her. Surely she would want one of them, and with her being so young, even if they didn't end the marriage at the season's end in a few days they would easily fabricate something so that she would no longer be interested in being apart of his life. With the Glade in working order again she could take her sister/adopted daughter and live comfortably watching over her people. The druids were returning to the cities around the castle and the world was once again a comfortable place for them. "I have an idea." Adam spoke up, he still wasn't sure how he had been dragged into all this, but he was certainly not going to get beheaded because the older men couldn't stop bickering about it.  
  
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"You didn't tell him did you?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I don't know, I felt as if it was something that I should keep quiet about."  
  
"Hmmm. You should tell him soon though."  
  
"Yes, I should."  
  
"But you won't will you?"  
  
"I don't know. I think I will wait until after the season."  
  
"Make sure to do the right thing, lady." 


	10. Some days...

Chapter 10: Some Days…  
  
Emily sat in the parlor that Annalisa had taken on as hers reading from a large leather bound book. It was full of pictures of the races that emerged from the Glade in the last hundred thousand years. The scholars had drawn pictures of both sexes and explained their connection to the magic of the land, their breeding habits and family units. Emily was more interested in the pictures. They were waiting for Jareth to join them in the parlor for some lunch and so they could talk about grown up things. Emily really wasn't interested. She found the Library incredible and had gotten to see the old room that she had shared with Annie. She was actually pretty content, the druids were nice, and taught her many things and the denizens of the Glade treated her like a Princess. Which, she was, but she still thought it was nice of them.  
  
Annie was pacing. Emily looked up at her sister, and noticed for the first time that her tummy was getting bigger, she wondered how on earth she could have gained any weight, she hadn't been eating much, and when she did she usually sicked it up. She shrugged. "What's wrong with you Annie?"  
  
The woman stopped and looked down at her sister. She smiled at the girl, dressed in greens and blues, her shock of red hair in two long braids. "Nothing, well… I'm a little nervous to tell you the truth."  
  
"About Jareth? You guys have been married for," the girl looked at her fingers and began counting, looking up and bit her lip, "a million months." She said finally.  
  
"Try six, and yes, I know, but I have something important to tell you two and I want it to go perfectly." She mimicked her sister in biting her lip. "This really isn't fair," she said allowed.  
  
"Compared to what? What isn't fair, anyway?"  
  
"Oh, well… It isn't fair that I should be so nervous about giving such wonderful news, I mean, you at least will be very happy." She came and sat down next to the girl on the rug, her dress puffed up and the slight bulge in her tummy region disappeared. "I think we should eat on the floor."  
  
Emily raised an eyebrow at her sister, a trait she had picked up from Jareth the older woman had no doubt. "Why?"  
  
"Goodness, you are full of questions today, you don't ask so many questions during you lessons, but if you must know I don't know, we used to eat on the floor, when I was younger. When we first moved to the Labyrinth. We would eat on the floor in the playroom and Jareth would tell us stories. I think it would be nice to do it again." She smiled and tugged at the girl's pig tale.  
  
She shrugged and went back to her book.  
  
Jareth found them that way, sitting on the floor reading out of the large volume. He smiled at his little family, they were just what he had always needed. His parents were infinitely happy that they were so happy, and though his mother was surprised Oberon had been confident that the marriage would out last the season. "Sitting on the floor like heathens," he tisked them, and they laughed.  
  
"Heathens? We don't live on a Heath!" Emily recited the practiced come back that her sister had taught her.  
  
"As I recall Mr. Head Heathen you enjoyed sitting on the floor and eating just fine not that long ago… Besides I have news for you two and this if far more intimate then eating at the table. Candice will be here any moment with our lunch, come on, sit!" She watched this graceful, omnipotent man that she had fallen so far in love with, stoop to their level and sit on the floor in a close circle with them.  
  
"So, what news do you have for us, your majesty."  
  
"You know I hate it when you call me that," she admonished gently. "Anyway, I…" there was a knock at the door. "Come," she called and in came a gnome with a large tray, he set it down and bowed mumbling something about Candice doing something else.  
  
"Well, come on then." Emily said stuffing fruit into her mouth.  
  
"Well, I wanted to tell you that there was going to be an addition to our family." She said as smoothly as possible. Her voice didn't crack, though she was afraid it would, she still wasn't comfortable telling them, but she couldn't keep warding off Jareth's advances and her belly was getting more noticeable.  
  
"Like a puppy or something? Samba is getting pretty big." Emily popped a piece of yellow cheese into her mouth and chewed noisily, her puppy wasn't a dog, but the small guardian that Annie had called to watch her. The ball of fluff had taken quite the fancy to the little girl in the last six months and was constantly with her.  
  
Jareth was silent. She didn't look at him, but buttered a piece of bread, and then poured herself a cup of juice from the cold pitcher. "No, it's not a puppy. It's a baby." There, she said it. She felt sick to her stomach, not nausea, but like perhaps she had done something that was erroneous.  
  
She finished pouring her drink and raised it to her lips, looking at him finally. There were tears in his eyes, falling down his cheeks slowly. "Jareth!" she set her cup down and stared at him for a moment. "What ever is wrong?"  
  
Emily's eyes widened at Jareth, No wonder Annie was worried to tell us, he's leaking!  
  
"Nothing," he said his lip quavering. "I just… I just am worried about you, that's all."  
  
"Oh, goodness, what is wrong with me! I completely forgot again! Jareth, there is no danger in me being pregnant. I am a Druid, and a powerful one at that. We are the daughters of a long generation of druidic tradition." He didn't relax, nor did recognition dawn, so she continued. "I didn't know a lot about our past until I came back to the Glade, for the first three days that I came I locked myself in the library and read the books that my father never let me read as a child. These books explained our history, our heritage and why we don't discuss our biology with doctor's outside the clans." She paused and waited for his tears to go away. "Jareth, our magic steams from the Mother herself. We have spent hundreds of thousands of years learning to accept pregnancy. Most Fae women have a hard time with pregnancy because their immortal bodies object to being with child. We trained our bodies to accept a child and nurture not attempt to reject it the whole time. How often does a Druid ask for a child?"  
  
"Never, they don't ever ask." He said, his tears retreating.  
  
"Right, but Druid women always have a child or two in tow, right?"  
  
"Well, yes, but… but how can you. You know very little of your heritage."  
  
"My mother wasn't a Druid. She was a powerful Fae, but her magic stemmed from the Eerie, not the Glade. She had two children within forty-five years of each other, unheard of from a non-druid woman. Our stepbrothers were no more then twenty years apart. There were six of them." She hoped that this information would put his fears to rest. "My gestational time will be much less and the pregnancy much easier. We haven't lost a woman in child birth in the last three thousand years."  
  
"And you are sure of this?"  
  
"Yes! Jareth! I never understood why fae women were always so terrified and rejoiced to find they were with child before Aelis explained it. I don't see how you people ever have children at all!" She smiled at him, and took his hand placing it on her stomach, "Feel her, she will be here soon."  
  
"Soon? How soon? You said the duration is shorter…" Jareth smiled at her, feeling the unborn baby's inherent magic.  
  
"About six months longer, though it feels as if she will come early, so maybe as early as five months. "  
  
"She?" Emily and Jareth said in unison.  
  
"Yes, she. I can feel her, and communicate with her on an emphatic level. She is very soothed and comfortable now, near her aunt and father."  
  
Emily's eyes widened in the wonderment. "A princess and an aunt." She placed a hand on her sister's belly and felt the baby there, the magic was faint, but she could sense where it was coming from and could indeed feel that the child was female.  
  
"I can tell she's a girl. What is her name?"  
  
"Good question. What shall we name her?" Jareth asked, "She can communicate with us, she needs a name."  
  
"Do you have a suggestion, she didn't like any that I liked."  
  
"I like the name Arden." He said. Arden was his grandmother's name, an old name with much power in it.  
  
"Arden," she breathed, she liked it very much and the surge of delight that overwhelmed her from the growing child in her body was enough to let her know that it was the name that the child wanted. "Very well, Arden." She laughed at Jareth's look. "Eat before everything warms up!" She finished her bread and started on some cheese and fruit.  
  
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"I told you she was pregnant," Byron hissed at Hilliard.  
  
"What are you talking about you fool?"  
  
"My porter and Oberon's porter are brother's. They just announced to the High Royal Couple that they are going to have a child."  
  
"Good, more likely then not she will die in childbirth and we can start over with the girl."  
  
"How is that?" Byron asked suspiciously.  
  
"Because, the girl is young, and it will be much easier to convince Titania and Oberon that she should marry a man well suited to teach her the ways of Royalty, and she certainly can't marry Jareth now that he is family." Hilliard shook his head and drank his tea; he was always so calm. His legs were crossed, and the gentlemanly ruffle at his neck was spotless and wrinkles. Byron was beginning to hate him.  
  
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"Oh, have you decided on a name for my newest granddaughter?" Titania asked pointedly. They had been sitting together for nearly an hour, choosing colors for the new baby's room, but Annalisa hadn't said much.  
  
Annalisa smiled at her mother in law. She had taken to Emily easier and the younger woman appreciated that she loved the girl as much as she would love the new baby. "Yes, actually, her name is Arden."  
  
"Arden. Jareth came up with that did he? It was my mother's name, before she ascended. A good name." She smiled and touched her daughter in law's stomach, feeling the baby move ever so slightly. "It's rather comforting that she will be here soon, isn't it?"  
  
"Yes, it is. Jareth burst into tears when I told him I was pregnant. He had no idea about Druid's I'm afraid."  
  
"Well, why should he? He was sure he would never marry, even when your mother refused the union years ago, I knew that it would happen on its own though. I remember you, six years old and your eyes followed him the whole time you were near him.' Titania laughed at the look Annalisa gave her. "Don't be so coy girl. I knew all along."  
  
She was speechless, she remembered vaguely meeting Jareth as a child, but didn't know that she had a 'crush' on him. Nor did she know that a marriage was nearly set up. "My mother refused?"  
  
Titania nodded, "Yes," apparently she wasn't going to give any information that wasn't asked directly.  
  
"She said no? But I married him anyway, she didn't seem…" she trailed off, thoughtful, her hands went to her belly and she sighed.  
  
"She didn't seem what? Have you spoken to her?"  
  
"Yes, I…" she paused again, looking at Titania, horrified that she had revealed her secret. She was nearing her due time, and she and Jareth had spoke at length about how they would handle Hilliard and Byron, and much to her dismay Jareth asked her to wait until after the baby was born. He was still worried about her, but because she was certain that she and the child would be fine he wanted to wait, so there was no added stress. "She was banished. When we were married I was able to speak with her for a short time. I found some things out that were very disturbing. She knew that I was marrying Jareth and wasn't upset about it at all."  
  
Titania sat for a moment absorbing the information. I suppose I can tell her the truth. She has already decided that she wants to stay with Jareth, because they are still married, and the child will be here soon, so even if she does decide that she no longer wants him then there is an heir and she must take the throne. "Daughter, I am going to explain something to you, and you may be upset but I think that the importance of what I am going to say will overcome the upset." She waited for a nod from Annalisa. "Your father was a good man, he loved his wives and all of his children more then anything in the world. He protected the Glade with his life. Your mother, as you know was a very powerful woman, she was born to the youngest son of the Dragon Monarchs. When fae have children, weather it is with Druids or the Dragon Kin or the Prime the power is passed on, and usually it diminishes partly, but when you were born the power increased. You are a powerful druid. Your magic steams from the earth and the Mother directly, instead of the sky like Prime or from their ancestor's like the Dragon Kin. Even Jareth pales in your wake."  
  
Annalisa nodded, she knew this already. Her mother was Dragon Kin, and Jareth and his parents Prime Fae. The difference were really only in philosophy, but once it had caused wars. She used her magic for very little, believe that abstentious use was frivolous and stupid. Perhaps it was the blood that flowed in her body but she had always felt that way.  
  
"When Jareth was born I had a very easy pregnancy, much easier then my sister's had ever had, and that was a concern to be sure. It was a gift from the Mother that he be born. He was a very sweet child, but I never felt it right to betroth him, as he grew older he grew…"  
  
"Obnoxious, flamboyant… rude…" Annalisa smiled as she tried to help her mother in law.  
  
"Flamboyant. Though, and Oberon and I decided that soon it would be our times to ascend, but, as you know, we cannot unless there is a replacement for us. When the former Goblin King reached his ascension and had no heirs, so we placed our son in charge of the Goblins, hoping to humble him. He actually did a very good job, but his hedonistic ways were still prevalent and we worried for the crown. When you were born I knew that you should be my son's wife. When you were presented to me to be named I knew that you would be perfect, it was a sign from the Mother to be sure. You were so meek as a child, you never cried, you were so smart, I just knew that it would be perfect. Then later your mother said no, that you must love him to marry him. Jareth to be sure was pleased, he stated very plainly at court that he would marry no woman of my choosing and that was final."  
  
The younger woman listened calmly, she wasn't upset, just confused. This was strange behavior on her mother in law's part. "So what happened?"  
  
"Well, nothing more was said until the attack on the Glade. There were rumors of whom it was, but they were never confirmed, and when we found that you and Emily had managed to get to the Labyrinth I was positive it was another sign. Jareth asked me what to do in a formal Court petition, and I couldn't stop myself but I declared that he would be your and Emily's guardian. I suppose I thought that even if he didn't love you or couldn't love you as a woman then the familiarity would grow into love and you would wed anyway. I saw the way he watched you and Emily together through the crystals and I feared that perhaps he loved you as a father, but that changed rapidly as you grew into womanhood. So beautiful, but you always managed to keep him on his toes, running him in circles until he couldn't tell which way was up. My son, a powerful mage, heir to the High Throne was overwhelmed by a child!" She paused a minute smiling genuinely at her before continuing, "When he asked me to find you a husband because you were arguing. The look on his face when I suggested that you choose a mate for yourself said all that needed to be said. He needed to be your husband. Because he loved and loves you, and he needs you. You make him whole, he has never been so docile as when you are in the room! So at my son's request I choose a husband for you, and I chose my son."  
  
"I thank you, you have made my life much easier, but why would that upset me."  
  
"I had marry suitor's ask for your hand in marriage, and unfortunately a few of them were ones that had been rumored to be behind your families death."  
  
"Hilliard and Byron." She said simply, her voice fell. She knew that Titania must believe the rumors, but it was so difficult to know what to do. She couldn't do anything to them until after the baby was born, the amount of magic that she would have to use would surely damage Arden.  
  
"Perhaps. Your mother died a terrible death, and the magic that locked her from this realm was strong, but not so strong that a circle of the seven most powerful Fae to join the two most powerful Fae broke the block shortly and you were able to see your mother. When a Fae dies they do not go to the Groove. They go to a spirit world where they wonder until born again or forget to come to this plane. There are very few ways that we can die, cold iron, powerful death magic, and others. Your mother obviously decided not to be reborn until she could give you the information to revenge her and Darren."  
  
"So you knew."  
  
"Not exactly, but I knew that something happened in that circle between the times that you heard and repeated your vows. Kilandra remarked on it to me, but I denied it at the time." She pattered her daughter in law's hand. "Enough secrets being revealed today, does Arden like this pink shade?"  
  
The baby responded with a sharp kick to Annie's rib. "Apparently not." 


	11. A Quiet Intermission

Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!!! I need encouragement peoples!! Thank you.  
  
Oh… this a short one because well… I know how I want things to happen, it's just that our Quiet Intermission decided it had to be written first.  
  
Chapter 11: A Quiet Intermission.  
  
The land of the Fae is saturated in magic, to the Kingdom's of the deep Gnomes and dwarves to the highest peaks of the Eerie the land seeps it. Morning took a stroll across the land, slowly filling the valleys and chasms, piling up against mountains and spilling over in waves like molten gold. Pale honey colored light seeped through trees and brush giving the land a yellow internal glow.  
  
A mother and child walked the long corridors and twisting passages of the Labyrinth. Creatures, dangerous to any but the two females loved on their legs and followed them as they made the long haul through the labyrinth. The mother was well with child, her belly swollen and her face red with effort, the child held her hand and answered the seemingly endless questions with a distant voice.  
  
It had been years since they walked the Labyrinth. They had often when Annie was much younger, taking the girl on her back like a papoose and traveling it over and over again until she knew every nook and cranny like her favorite book.  
  
The girl was being questioned on the different races that inhabited the different kingdoms of the realm. "Dragons, Hippogriff's and Harpies,' she answered the question while studying the eyeball plant that studied her back carefully.  
  
"Very good, and what are the three kinds of Dragon's that are generally born in the Eerie."  
  
"Serpentine, Metallic and Gem." She answered slowly.  
  
"All right, here's a hard one, name three types of creatures born in the sea surrounding the Eerie."  
  
The girl looked at her sister in surprise, this was a trick she was sure. The peninsula of the Eerie was filled with high mountaintops that had been hallowed out years ago to let the Dragon Kin Fae assist the flying creatures that nested in the peaks. She could remember two easily, "Dragon Turtle's, fish and lichen?" It was more of a question then an answer but her sister nodded and accepted the answer, then handed her a peppermint out of her belt pouch. "When will the baby be here?"  
  
"Soon, that is why we are walking the Labyrinth for your lessons this morning. I need to walk so when the baby comes it will be much easier." The woman laughed at the girl, she had made a strange face, and then wondered off for a moment to come running back.  
  
"Let's go the Glade and walk. I want to see the meadow where the pixie's come from." She announced out of breath.  
  
"Well, lets get Jareth and see if he would like to come with us."  
  
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The darkness enveloped him. He had been watching them a long time when they disappeared. He dared not go into the castle for fear he would be found out. The child would come soon, perhaps in only days, he had to do something before it was born. He had managed to get a spy into the Library and read about the druidic childbearing traditions and what was revealed made him uncomfortable.  
  
Annalisa and Jareth's child would be very powerful, and though he was sure that neither knew of the treachery that had taken place he worried that perhaps this child would bring everything to light. He found that killing the woman and the girl would be relatively easy, but the Goblin King was feared, his Goblin's were fearless and competent in battle, and nothing would stop him until his vengeful heart was satiated if they died. So, what to do.  
  
Hilliard stole through the labyrinth like a ghost, she was oblivious to his presence.  
  
At the plateau at the beginning of the labyrinth he stepped easily beyond the wards and then teleported to his home. There was much planning to be had, and he still had not decided exactly what to do.  
  
He had watched her for long hours in the last few months. Since the pregnancy was confirmed and announced. He had found that it was easy to spy on her with his crystals, but preferred the more direct approach.  
  
Calling Lord Byron to him he smiled his friendly grin, "I have a plan. This one will work to be sure." 


	12. Danger's Untold

Disclaimer: None of this is mine.  
  
I finally finished this and I went through every song on my computer to find the perfect one to go with this and found none… But chapter 13 will have theme music. I hope you enjoy this.  
  
Chapter 12: Danger's Untold  
  
  
  
Her child was coming, but she was giving her mother gyp. The hours had uncomfortably turned into a day and she was starting to grow tired. Annalisa had read everything that she could find in the Library at the Glade and in Titania's castle on childbirth and different kinds of Fae. She had known some of it, but after each volume that she read she realized that her mother must have been crazy. As days passed she learned more and more, and eventually decided that the thing to do was to train a wise man in the process and then go from there.  
  
Days turned into weeks and weeks into months and finally at twelve days before the baby was due to arrive the wise man was ready, and her walking was increasing from a trip in the labyrinth once a week to one every other day. She was feeling strong and her trips were taking less and less time in the same routes, she could see every winding passage in her mind and work her way through in the dark with her eyes closed. She avoided the Bog but everything else was easy.  
  
Jareth protested her walks in the Labyrinth, but she ignored him, it made life with him much easier she realized. She had been doing it so long that when they married and she had to pay more attention to him his stubborn and domineering ways were starting to aggravate her. Her love for him had grown, but since she had announced her pregnancy he had been irritable and she would find him looking forlornly out over the hills and mazes of the Labyrinth. He was worried, and she understood, but only so much snipping and yelling could she take before she decided to go to the Glade and not return.  
  
The time had arrived with a gush of water and a low primal groan as the contraction hit her. It was low and dull, like she had been punched at first and then went screaming into sharp pushing pains. She could feel the child inside of her changing reflexively to a shape that would help protect her.  
  
Shifting was an inborn ability in most Fae, though Druid's did not share the ability. Annie being half Dragon Kin allowed that her daughter could morph into two forms, the more comfortable as her mother could only be a mammal was the dragon, and it was giving Annie quite a bit of trouble. The doctor was sent away early, in a most ungracious fashion.  
  
Annalisa, the ruler of two kingdoms' in the Underground sat on her heels, her thin nightdress hiked up to her thighs, baring down. In a fit of weariness she had laughed out loud, the thought of someone seeing her looking somewhat less then regal or posed may hurt the way her people looked at her and the chances in becoming High Queen. It passed quickly, there were other things more important. The child would not come, or change and she was growing tired. She held on to the post that had been chosen and placed just in case this should happen. Sweat poured from her body and the doctor, seasoned from wars and all manners of diseases was horrified. "What are you doing, Lady? You'll kill yourself and the child!"  
  
She had looked up at him as another contraction hit her and screamed. "Get out you horrible little man." Aelis had closed the door after him, and moved to help her lady.  
  
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The throne room had been it's usual mass of squirming, dirty and crude life forms. They were avoiding Jareth while continuing with their antics. He paced, he had been pacing for hours. He wasn't allowed in the birthing room. He knew that he had been under the stress of worry and fear for the past some months but it had come to a climax when his wife's water had broken in the garden. Later, when the doctor had come out at a full run after an earth-shattering scream, they ran headfirst into one another. "What are you doing, man? Get in there!"  
  
"No, the Ladies possessed!" He continued to run, Jareth heard his footsteps fall away and wondered exactly what was going on in that little room..  
  
Jareth walked to the door of the room, and went to turn the handle cautiously, afraid of what he might see. Aelis had been there with a grim look of determination on her face. "Sire, you canna come in. If ye want to be of help then go to the Eerie and retrieve a wise woman. Your daughter is being as stubborn as ye!"  
  
There was a firm slam as the door closed. He took to flight, hoping to reach the Eerie in time.  
  
Mean while his wife would have been sobbing if she had the strength. She had sat down again when it became obvious that the child was too scared to change back. Annie soothed her daughter, trying to convince her that the best thing to do was to change. "This is going to kill me," she whispered. There was no fear in death for her. She knew what lay beyond the shroud. There was so much to be done though, "We just have to wait, little one." She sighed. There was nothing to be done.  
  
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The rift between the worlds was a quiet place, not the quiet of a country night, but the disconcerting silence that there is nothing living there except for a single man. There were breeze, but no wind, there was ground, but no life on those hard and uncaring rocks. The sky was black, the black of a void, one could loss themselves in the questions that the rift's sky could bring up.  
  
The breeze ruffled his feathers, he would have savored the feel of true freedom had he not been deep in thought. There had been no one. No one to help, hinder or console him, he was terrified. There had been such loneliness before they came to be in his life. He had never known the merit of company. Never knew the warmth of a child's hug or a woman's genuine smile. There had been women, courtiers and peasants willing do whatever he asked or demanded in a heartbeat, there to satiate his every physical need. Something had been missing. There was no one that had ever lightened his spirit. Even as a child, a scared and not so innocent child she had done something to him, touched him in a way that he could never put to words. There was something inside of him that had been made whole by her appearance in his Labyrinth.  
  
The only explanation that the denizens of the Eerie would give was, "The Druid's Secrets are their own!"  
  
There would be no help for his wife and child.  
  
Something must be done, I have to see her, there was nothing to be done, but seeing her may ease his soul. As long as she was all right he would be saved. She was his salvation. The loneliness was gone only when she was with him, with her quick smile and beautiful laughter, even when she was angry with him he felt as if he could face the dawn. He went from being a cruel and evil Goblin King to being a man once again in the space of a few days. Her light had led him through the darkness and that consolation may soon be gone.  
  
He couldn't cry yet, he didn't have time, he had to be with her. The thought that he may already be to late urged him on. He would be there soon. As soon as he passed the rift, the dead zone, he would teleport to the castle and no matter what Aelis said would be with her until the end. No matter what happened.  
  
It's probably over, he thought, feeling his chest clench. It couldn't be over, he hadn't seen her again. She would leave him all alone again. The fear of loneliness and loss pushed him onward to her. As soon as he broke through the rift he teleported to the  
  
  
  
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"Annalisa," the voice was soft as moonlight and it came whispered from over the hills and far away in a place that Annalisa could not go. She had been dozing, the child had been quelled until she was near reverting to Fae form but a contraction frightened her again. Her body had gone numb and she was simply waiting for the child to change. It had to be soon.  
  
"Mama," she whispered back, in her half dream state, and slipped further into the dream. She was in the Glade, more specifically the meadow in which the races of the Realms were born. She turned and saw the different races milling around in a large circle. She studied each in turn and when she finally came back to the full circle a familiar red haired woman stood in front of her.  
  
Rebecca watched her daughter silently. She had called her to this place, and she only had a while, but she was glad to see the girl. It had been so long since she had time to study her daughter, how she had grown into a beautiful young woman under the Goblin kings care. 'Annalisa, I have important things to tell you. You mustn't speak, let me finish and then you may ask me one question."  
  
The younger woman nodded, her brows knitting together.  
  
"Your daughter is scared, and not willing to come into this world that you are so afraid of, you fear not death or the ascension, but the world around you frightens you, and that frightens the child. If you are going to survive this you must accept what has happened and accept that sometimes there is nothing that we can do." She paused and let this news sink into her daughter, fearing that it may not help. "Now, what is your question?"  
  
"Does he really love me?" She asked, knowing that perhaps there was something more pertinent that she should ask, but she knew that she could never be free of her fear if she didn't know the truth.  
  
"In his own way he loves you. He is a selfish man, vain and cruel, but yes he loves you. You have brightened his life, eased the loneliness that he had faced for so long. Brought cheer to dreary days and he loves you, that love is dangerous though. He will love you forever Annalisa, until the mountains crumble and the seas boil, but you may not always love him. Sometimes that hot rush of passion you feel will eventually ease to a warm rush, and then just a warm feeling that steels over you. I must go, but remember that everything is ever changing, you just have to find your anchor in the night to stay afloat sometimes."  
  
Her mother faded and her eye's fluttered open. It was still daylight barely. It was nearly two days of labor.  
  
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"Through danger's untold, and hardships unnumbered I have made my way here, to the Castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the child that you have stolen."  
  
Lightning flashed in the night sky, and Lord Byron and Lord Hilliard awoke standing on a hill outside a familiar sight. The Labyrinth reached out beyond them, and there was fear in their hearts. They turned in unison to see a woman, her read hair down and flowing around her shoulders in the wind that the storm was building up. "You will solve this Labyrinth in thirteen hours or you will die for the crimes against the Druid's of the Glade." She said, her eyes cold and pain glazed.  
  
"And if we solve the Labyrinth?"  
  
"Then I will merely banish you." She waved slightly in the wind, as if she were a willow. It flowed around her whipping her thin nightdress about her, her belly was still large with child and sweat glistened on her forehead despite the cool air.  
  
"And what authority do you use to do such a thing." Hilliard asked defiantly.  
  
Her eye's flashed red and silver for a moment and Byron was truly frightened. "I use the authority of the Chieftain of the Druid Clans, as the Queen of the Goblins, as the daughter of the people that you murdered in cold blood because you wanted to take control of a land that would not have you anyway. You are selfish and evil and you will die tonight. Thirteen hours, I suggest you get moving." She faded into the background and was gone. The men looked at one another and walked down the slope. 


	13. Home Again

Disclaimer: Only the character's not portrayed in the Labyrinth belong to me.  
  
  
  
Chapter 13: Home Again  
  
  
  
Time had slipped by until it was almost gone.  
  
Tick  
  
Tock  
  
Tick  
  
Tock  
  
It thudded loudly in her ears. The baby had finally changed, and Aelis was pulling as she pushed. There was little strength in her now and Aelis feared that her lady would not survive the experience. She had been bleeding for hours, and her face had paled to translucent silver that made her eyes glow. She hadn't bothered to watch the progress of the men running the Labyrinth, they would die or survive, either way she would have her vengeance, but them being in the Labyrinth gave her the sense of peace that it took for her to convince her child to change.  
  
Tick  
  
Tock  
  
Tick  
  
Tock  
  
Jareth hadn't arrived yet, he had been gone so long she wondered if he had managed to get anyone, or if he was staying away thinking that she was already dead. She knew now that he loved her and it helped her to push on in the night. Dawn would arrive soon, and the storm had spent itself long ago.  
  
Tick  
  
Tock  
  
Tick  
  
Tock  
  
Time was running out.  
  
Tick  
  
Tock  
  
Tick  
  
Tock  
  
He arrived in a flash of glitter into the room, and a moment later his daughter came into the world screaming out her annoyance at being ripped from her mother's womb so uncouthly. He smiled at his daughter and held her while Aelis cut and tied the cord. She quieted immediately.  
  
Tick  
  
Tock  
  
Tick  
  
Tock  
  
Time was running out.  
  
Tick  
  
Tock  
  
Tick  
  
Tock  
  
Annalisa opened her eye, to weak to sit up.  
  
She watched him look down at the child with tears in his eyes, her vision was blurring from blood loss and exertion. "Bring her to me," she whispered.  
  
He looked up and realized that she hadn't fallen asleep. He really saw her for the first time. Her hair matted with sweat, her gown sticking to her and Aelis pulled a blanket over her. The maid looked up and left her mistress and master, feeling that perhaps they needed a few moments alone.  
  
Jareth placed Arden in her mother's arms. "Help me," she said softly, unable to hold the child by herself.  
  
The room grew quiet as she held her daughter, the baby's eyes weren't open, but she knew that the girl would have the dragon pupils that went with her silver skin. "This will fade," she said hoarsely.  
  
"Hush, darling, don't speak, you are too weak. We will speak tomorrow."  
  
"I love you, more then idolization, more then friendship. I love you as a man, Jareth," she said. "Take care of my child." She closed her eyes and drew a single breath.  
  
Tick  
  
Tock  
  
Tick  
  
Tock  
  
Time has run out.  
  
Tick  
  
Tock  
  
As she blew out the breath slowly the room became suddenly bright, the light came from her, surrounding them, and then in a blinding shock of light there were two cracks of lightening, loud enough to deafen him and make the baby scream in terror.  
  
She was not the only one screaming, if only for a moment before they two drew a single breath.  
  
Tick  
  
Tock  
  
She opened her eyes and sat up, Jareth lay over the bed sobbing, and loud and wet he cried her name. Over and over, she smiled and reached for him, but remembered something and stopped. The baby was in a bassinet that she had made by her own hands at the end of the bed. She looked down, sadness touched her eyes but she continued to smile, she reached down and with a soft light moved the covers over her daughter. The baby did not see her, but snuggled into the covers. Her ethereal hands brushed the girls red girls away from her face and she placed a soft kiss on her brow.  
  
Jareth remained on the bed sobbing by her body. Well, at least I look peaceful, she thought. She was at peace she realized. The men that had plagued her nightmares were dead, her child and husband were safe and she had passed from the world, leaving her mark and an heir to the throne. She sat down on the bed next to him and touched his hair gently. He looked up quickly, terror in his eyes, they unfocused slightly and he saw her for the first time. "Annie? Oh, Annie how can you leave me?"  
  
She could not speak to him, she didn't have the power or the strength, but she kissed his lips gently, making herself solid for a split moment. "I love you," she mouthed the words and disappeared.  
  
Fin  
  
I hope you enjoyed my story. Please read and review. This entire thing is dedicated to Chani for keeping me going and being such a good friend. Thanks, babe! 


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